Soundtrack: Goo Goo Dolls - Iris
Definitely a song that fits Zeralena and will be LegolasXZera.
With thanks to Angie :) and WolvesKey (haha yes definitely the moral!) Your feedback is very much appreciated. :)
Borrowed Time
O4
Link
"Zeralena, I love you."
'Mother'
...
Fight. Fight. Fight.
...
"You retreat too easily, Zera."
'Arwen'
...
Fight. Fight. Fight.
...
'Forgive Me.'
...
Pull. Push. Swerve.
Dive. Fall.
Plummet.
She is vaguely aware of being violently hauled in every direction. She's like a rag doll. Limp and without any real consciousness.
She can't breathe. She stopped trying. Allowing herself to dully slip away.
"You're not done yet."
The voice reminds her even as her eyes close fully and her already dark and clouded vision disappears into nothing.
{ } { } { } { }
Boromir had Frodo, he and the ring were safe. But Zeralena's body was icy against Legolas's warmth. Her head lolled against his chest and she wasn't breathing. His heart beat faster.
"Zeralena, Zeralena, Zeralena." He kept repeating her name, almost without realising it. Under his fingertips he felt her already dangerously faint circulation cease. "Zeralena, Zeralena, Zeralena." It was becoming a mantra. He sprinted into the mines, leaving the others following in his wake. He flew up the set of stone stairs, aware but strangely numbed to the crashing from the cave in, and laid her swiftly (yet somehow gently) onto the floor.
He didn't think twice, pressing his mouth against hers and breathing into her several times. His hands linked together and pressed against her chest forcing her heart to pump the blood around her body. Her skin was horribly pale. But frighteningly of all was that he couldn't hear any signs of a pulse.
"Zeralena, open your eyes." He pleaded against her blue lips before exhaling oxygen into her motionless body again.
{ } { } { } { }
Her hands should be cold. They're always cold, so are her feet.
But from head to toe she was incredibly, unbearably, hot. Feverish almost.
Her panic was wild and she thrashed against the extreme pressure on her body.
"Be calm, the Prince of Mirkwood is saving you. Be still." She knows that voice. She became much more alert suddenly. As if awakened. The pressure simmers to a more tolerable throb and her mind clears from a fog. She stands in a bluish light but it is the woman that appears in front of her that captures her attention. Everything else is irrelevant. For now.
"Princess Jaenne. Mother."
"Zeralena, there is much I have to tell you and not enough time. But know this, it will not be the first time you face near death. It will come again. Your fate is complex and intertwined with trials and tribulations, so much so that I am unable to see it all. But you must continue to fight through it all."
"How?" Her mother's lips twitched into a rueful smile.
"The very same way you have survived a world that hated you, until it came to love you. I am proud of you, Zeralena, for your perseverance. It has allowed you to accomplish much. I know you are capable of incredible feats."
"Forgive me." A line of confusion creases Jaenne's brow as the words are murmured by her daughter.
"How now, dear one? It is I who should apologize. I should have been with you. You should not have faced what you have. Or most certainly, at the very least, not alone."
"Your death was my doing."
"Death in childbirth is common, you are not the cause my beautiful daughter. My beautiful Princess, you must stop this habit of blaming yourself for every misfortune. I love you Zeralena and I always will."
{ } { } { } { }
Her eyes snapped open. The mouth against hers disappeared and she choked against the gritty fluid that rushed up her throat. Turning her head to the side she gasped for breath as she regurgitated it out onto the stone floor. Her vision blurred but she made out his distinct form even in the dim light.
"Legolas?"
"Yes, I am here." A hand clutched her outstretched one and an arm helped her to sit up. Her head leant into his chest; stripped completely of strength and left shakily fatigued. She breathed in his gloriously welcoming scent as his arms encased her shivering body, sharing his heat. Her temperature was dramatically lower; a combination of shock, exhaustion, the water's gelidity and her temporary cardiac failure. Taking the cloak Boromir offered, he wrapped it tightly around her shaking frame.
"You gave us all quite the scare, Zeralena." She offered a wobbled curve of her lips to Gandalf and the other smiling members of the fellowship.
"I - am - sorry." She managed through chattering teeth. The elf chuckled, drawing her up in his arms to carry her as their other companions shared half laughs; basking in the relief they were not burying her corpse.
"Rest, M'lady you are safe now." Legolas murmured, falling into step behind the wizard as they continued their journey.
"I would - M'lord - after that - for you to - call me - Zeralena." He smiled down at her. A smile that she admires, though she altogether likes his presence.
"As you wish, but in return you must call me Legolas." She hesitated, her eyes widening. His sincerity and encouraging warmth prompted her to nod.
"As you wish, M'lo... Legolas." She caught herself, a tinge of colour burning her chalk white cheeks and making her look more like her healthy self. Charming, he decided, smiling down at her again. He enjoyed hearing her say his name. "I am in - your debt." He shook his head gently, regarding her softly.
"You owe me nought, Zeralena. I made a vow to protect you and I shall not break it. You almost lost your life this night and it was my fault. You told me of your dream and I did not pay close enough heed. Forgive me." She looked appalled at the notion and shook her head quickly.
"No I am a burden, you must forgive me."
"You are not a burden. Remove such thoughts from your mind." Her heart twisted at his genuine words. Suddenly she wanted to tell him everything. Everything there was to know about her. But she held her tongue, afraid he would be disgusted. Or worse. Disapproving. She could handle his repulsion. But rejection of her very existence would be too much to bare. He read her worry instantly in her expression. "What is it, Zeralena?"
"Nothing, I am humbled by your kindness. You are very generous." Confusion spread across his handsome features.
"What makes you think you are not deserving?" Again the urge to tell him but her fear restrained her, her mouth ran dry. He seemed to partially find the answer anyway. "The prejudices of men are not true, Zeralena."
"You should be conserving your own strength, you should put me down." A frown creased his brow.
"You are not a burden-." And I want to believe you, but I can not.
"I assure you I am capable. It would return some of the feeling to my legs." She successfully averted his attention with that.
"You can not feel your legs?" He asked with intent concern, pausing abruptly.
"No, no I can. Just they are very numb."
"You are cold?"
"Only a little, walking would warm me." He hesitated, mulling it over. Slowly, cautiously, he dipped her forward and set her carefully onto her feet. She tried to ignore his close watch. Her legs felt like lead but she managed to stand. He looped her arm through his and she decided not to protest when she saw his determined expression. They walked linked together. His warm hand closed over the top of hers on his right bicep.
"Your hands are like ice." He told her softly, wrapping his fingers round hers. Her face became more heated again, but she managed to smile wryly.
"They always are." They stopped to rest when Gandalf forgot the route. Legolas insisted she sit and remained stood directly beside her. Perhaps her 'death' had provoked an even more prominent sense of obligation. She chastised herself for even considering he was feeling protective. Although she enjoyed the brief glimmer of hope. Nonetheless, his reaction both confused and brought a strange buzz of pleasure to her. Something she had not experienced before. Something she'd never been allowed, or had the chance to for that matter, experience before. If he could sense it, which she prayed he couldn't, he didn't show it. Or at least, her eyes didn't see it. Aragorn, on the other hand, had to hide a smile. He suspected the elf's mouth-to-mouth had not been forgotten. In fact, he was almost certain Legolas could not forget it.
{ } { } { } { }
"So you were born in, Adeageoo?"
"Adaugeo." She corrected Pippin with a vague smile. "Yes."
"What's it like?" Merry asked as they walked. Gandalf had worked out their path and they continued to trudge along in the cool mines. Zeralena still had her arm linked with Legolas. She'd come, without realising, to lean on him. Not that he minded at all.
"It's very beautiful. Or it was. I don't know what has become of it." She admitted, her eyebrows twitching downwards. "I love all of Semper and miss it terribly." She concluded, smiling at the listening hobbits. "But I suppose we all do." She snatched a glance at the elf who sent her a small smile.
"So are you a princess?" Pippin asked, his eyes dancing with wonder. Her shoulders tensed instantly. She internally winced. That had been a mistake. Of course Legolas noticed. Yes, he was frowning.
"Are you hurt?" He asked immediately. She shook her head quickly.
"No, I am fine." She assured him, cursing herself inwardly. She turned to Pippin and forced another smile."No, I am not a princess."
"But your grandfather is the King?" The hobbit was clearly confused. She was saved from responding when a hall came into view. Gimili was struck with horror, racing forward and falling in front of a grave. Zera felt her breathe hitch, her arm sliding back down to her side as she surveyed the carcass littered room and pained for the Dwarf's grief. She heard Legolas murmur something to Aragorn but didn't quite catch his quiet words. A shock ran through her entire body.
"Move silently. Be on you guard, young one."
She had to inhale sharply but this time her energy didn't deplete. Nor did her head pound as if struck by a hammer.
"Your mortem lapse has strengthened you."
So that was why she was fated to 'die', she deciphered, struggling to concentrate.
"You are considerably stronger than before, young one."
Yet, it still knocked the air from her and was highly uncomfortable. A loud clanging made her jump and her eyes flew to Pippin who had managed to knock one of the skeletons down a funnel. Her spine locked and she stepped subconsciously closer to the elf. They held their breaths and waited. She thought they were safe, that his accident had gone without consequence.
"They are coming."
A moment later the sounds of 'their' stirring rang in her ears. The bangs matched her accelerating heartbeat.
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Thoughts? :S I don't want to bore you to death that's all!