Chapter Eight: Wedding Bells and the Tragedy of it All

-

Aragorn woke up sad that morning when he realised that him and Legolas were no more. Dragging his sorry arse to the dining room, he saw his father smiling happily with a beautiful girl seated on his left. Aragorn froze.

Arwen.

'Son, so glad you could join us today, have a seat,' Arathorn greeted him.

'Why is she here?' Aragorn spat out.

Arathorn stood up and grabbed Aragorn by the writs and dragged him out of Arwen's earshot to speak privately.

'What are you doing?' Arathorn hissed at his son.

'What do you mean, 'what am I doing?' What are you doing?' Aragorn said, a little bit louder than Arathorn. 'Why is she here?' he said in a dripping condescending tone.

'She is here,' Arathorn said, trying to calm down his shaking voice. 'As I asked her to come meet her future husband.'

Aragorn stoped and looked at his father in utter confusion. 'Why, are you getting married? I thought you and Saruman were still going strong which, by the way, I'm not too keen about.'

'Okay, ouch. But the marriage is not for me but for you, son.'

'What???'

Back in Mirkwood, Saruman was laughing evilly, entranced with (what he was) his magnificent plan.

Haldir looked at him with caution. They were both waiting for Legolas to come down from his tower as they were about to spring the news of their betrothal to Legolas that afternoon. Although Haldir was slightly confused as to why Legolas had no idea about the engagement. He thought that Legolas would already be in on this (as most engagements are usually agreed upon by both parties before the actual declaration of engagement) but he didn't pay much attention to it as he was really, really infatuated with Legolas.

A minute later, Legolas came bouncing down the stairs with a happy smile.

'Have you see my sons?' Saruman asked immediately.

Legolas looked at the floor, hoping to hide his guilty eyes. 'Erm, no, not today I'm afraid.'

'Never mind. It's not like their presence of lack of is of any importance to me,' Saruman said waving his hand in front of him as if there was a fly. 'It is you I want to have a chat with. Take a seat.'

'Pardon?'

'Take a seat; is it that excruciatingly hard to understand?'

'No, no.' Legolas said and took his seat next to Saruman.

'Legolas, dear,' Saruman began. Legolas looked at him weirdly. He was confused. Did something happen to Saruman in the shower that caused him to act so... nice? 'This is Haldir, a very fine archer, as you should very wel know as he is quite famous in this part of Middle-Earth,' Saruman said, motioning to the guy standing not far from them.

Haldir looked at Saruman with murderous eyes. He disliked the word 'elf' as he found it rather discriminatory.

'And he will be your husband, isn't that nice? Oh isn't it just lovely? We've loads of events to plan for the nt-so-future-future! We're to have a wedding for which I have plenty of ideas to work with and a grand ball in honour of your betrothal. Not to mention the reception which I think should be lavish and absolutely grand – you are prince of Mirkwood after all.'

Legolas sat frozen to his seat. WHAT THE?! This is bad. 'What - what about Aragorn?' he stammered.

'Aragorn?' What about him?' Saruman asked acting to be totally in the dark about him and Aragorn.

'Yeah, me and Aragorn. We have plans. Of marriage and a future together… I mean, we even picked out baby names!'

'Well then that's just too bad now is it? What kind of an idiot are you anyway, planning your life without my consent? Have I taught you nothing?'

'What??' Legolas exclaimed. 'Excuse me, but this is my life and what I say goes!'

'Erm, sorry to interrupt your rather fascinating conversation, if you could call it that, but it seems to me that I am unwanted by the prince,' Haldir interrupted. 'So if you'll excuse me, I'll be off now. Thank you for the invitation Saruman, I feel so deeply wanted in this palace. Goodbye now.'

'Hold on,' Saruman said. 'Pardon my boy for being brutally rude, but you are wanted here. I gave you my word, and that is for you and my son to wed, and it will happen. As king, my word is law.'

'I'm sorry, but I still have to decline,' Haldir said. 'You may mean well Saruman, though I'm not sure if you really do, but in my experience, a marriage is supposed to be agreed upon by the two people who are actually getting married. It doesn't seem to be that way and I wouldn't want to be in the middle of whatever the two of you are going on about.

'So I have to say thank you for the thought of even considering me as a worthy husband for your obviously astounding bright and handsome young son, though I don't think I am even an inch close to his league, but I refuse to be married to someone who doesn't want to marry me.'

'Haldir… it's not that you aren't worthy of me, I mean, I'm just me-' Legolas started.

Haldir shook his head. 'You don't have to explain a thing. I understand completely. You're in love with someone else, someone much better than I am, I presume, and that suits me just fine.'

'Excuse us just one second Haldir,' Saruman said, motioning for Legolas to follow him to the room next door. 'Okay, I know you are obsessively in love with this Aragorn guy,' Saruman started once they were inside the room. 'But honey, it has just got to stop. I don't know what the cunning romantic boy told you, but he's been deceiving you.

'He's betrothed to Arwen and it was an agreement made by their parents years ago, way before you were even born! Okay, so maybe that's an exaggeration as you are older than Aragorn by centuries, but believe me when I tell you this: he's taken. I mean, I know I may not have been the perfect stepfather and I know I may have made you do things most people wouldn't agree to, like going down the well to get the necklace I dropped and being stuck there for hours causing you to become claustrophobic, so I completely understand if you don't want to believe a word I say. But I still, first and foremost, am your stepfather. And as hard to believe as it may seem, I do care for you. Not as much as I do for my own children, but I still do.

'So I did something stupid and something I know you may not like. I set you and Haldir up together. But you'll never know, being married to one of the hottest elves in the kingdom might do you some good and make you forget that Casanova.' Wow, I am such a great avtor, I even fooled myself to believe that I actually care for this stupid, handsome, hot, lovely – oh god I think I'm cushing on my own stepson!

Legolas was in deep thought after hearing this. On the one hand, he has never known Saruman show compassion to anyone including his own children, but on the other hand, he did look really sincere that it was hard not to believe him.

'Look,' Saruman continued, 'You don't have to believe me. And why should you? After all the things I've put you through. But I really am being honest this time around. And if you still don't want to get married to Haldir, I'll cancel the pre-planned wedding and send him back home.'

He was silent for a while, trying to contemplate things. It was, after all, quite stupid to fall in love with a boy after just one night of perfect bliss. Who's to say it will be that way weeks, months or even years after? One night couldn't tell the outcome of the future. And he doesn't even know Aragorn that well. He really could be betrothed to Arwen. He really could be just another Casanova.

Besides, Haldir was here in the present and thought highly of him. And he was extremely good looking and wel-mannered. It might not be that bad. Love at first sight was purely mythical anyway, right?

Legolas slowly nodded. 'Okay, I'll do it.'

'I am not marrying her, father,' Aragorn said softly though anger and disdain were apparent in his voice. 'Why are you setting me up with her? This is totally uncalled for!'

'I thought you liked her. Didn't you use to be insanely in love with her just weeks ago?'

'That was in the past. Before I came to know Legolas.'

'That boy? That boy you found out about in just one night? That boy who is set to marry Haldir in three months time? Are you really still stuck on him? Are you really that daft as to plan a future where there's only hope but zero reality of you two ever getting together? If so, you won't have my blessing but you're a grown man and free to do whatever the hell you want. Go ahead, plan a future of disappointment and solace. There's not much I can do about it anyway.'

Arathorn turned his back on his son, and walked on back to the dinner table where Arwen was looking at both of them expectantly.

Aragorn sighed. Arathorn's words cut deep into him and though he wanted to deny everything and still believe in the possibility of him and Legolas being together but he knew that wouldn't happen. Haldir's letter confirmed it all.

'Okay, I'll do it.'