The company departed swiftly at first light. This time, they were especially cautious in heeding their movements along the Road. Though it was not apparent that they were being followed again, their minds were still ill at ease.
Several hours later, they reached the Old Bridge and crossed the Greyflood easily into Arnor. As they watered the horses, Legolas' eyes gazed northeastward along the Greyflood: the direction to Rivendell.
From a short distance away, Elessar observed his friend carefully. He noted the Elf seemed to possess a clearer mind—thank the Valar, otherwise who knows what might have happened during the fight last night? he thought. Yet he knew Legolas was still preoccupied, even obsessed, with his visions. Elessar only wondered what they might bring about next.
---
The next few days passed without incident. The company rode mostly in silence, yet gratefully noticed that the barren landscape was turning a more lovely shade of green as they journeyed further towards Eriador. But even in this peaceful land the growing darkness could still be felt.
When they reached the division in the Road—to the left, the Shire; to the right, Bree—Legolas hesitated to follow his friends across the Brandywine. In his mind resounded the Elf-woman's words: To Rivendell…
'Wait, I see a rider further up the road,' Faramir announced. Legolas turned to the direction Faramir pointed to.
'Nay, there are two,' he corrected. His Elf eyes discerned two very familiar faces, albeit fourteen years older, and he grinned. 'It is indeed Merry and Pippin!'
Elessar laughed, delighted and relieved to soon be united with old friends. 'Come, let us ride to meet them.'
When they drew nearer, the two Hobbits hailed them with great enthusiasm.
'This is a welcome sight, indeed!' Elessar declared happily. Merry and Pippin had indeed matured since they last met, but their eyes still gleamed mischievously. They rode a matching pair of brown dappled ponies; each were dressed in simple traveling clothes and the Elven cloaks Lady Galadriel had given them in Lothlórien so many years ago.
'It appears that we've been left out of the loop again, Pip,' Merry said, his tone clearly teasing. 'First, we are greeted suddenly—and quite secretly, I should add—by the Elven lords who have returned from over the Sea—'
'—And then we are sent to meet our old friends, quite coincidentally traveling to meet said Elven lords, and direct them to Bree, without a word of explanation,' Pippin finished. The two Hobbits looked to their friends expectantly.
'Nothing ever changes, does it?' said Gimli.
---
Under Elrond's instruction, given to the company through Merry and Pippin, they turned back and took the Andrath towards Bree. As they traveled, Merry and Pippin related their encounter with Elrond, Galadriel, and Gandalf.
'It was just over a week ago, now,' said Merry, 'so we should almost meet exactly with them in Bree. Barring any hindering circumstances, of course. They were quite secretive about why they had returned. Gandalf warned us—'
'—Actually, he threatened us,' Pippin interjected. 'But that's nothing new.'
'We were warned,' Merry continued, shooting a glare at Pippin, 'to neither speak of their arrival in Middle-earth, nor to tell anyone where we were going and who we were meeting with. Elessar, what's going on?'
No one responded for a few moments. Finally, Elessar spoke, his voice low. He told the Hobbits what had happened in Mordor, the attacks in Rohan, and the new, powerful breed of Orcs that they had fought. 'I cannot say for certain what has brought Gandalf and the Elven lords from over the Sea,' he said, 'but I pray it is to bring us aid once more. Some Evil is clearly rising in the East, but we are blind to its origin.'
They stopped to camp at nightfall. Merry and Pippin built a substantial fire and shared the food and pipe-weed they'd brought along with them. Legolas, of course, refused to smoke, but Gimli was much obliged to have the Elf's portion of the weed. The group spent much of the night conversing and recounting their old adventures with one another. It was a merry night, one of the last they would have in quite some time.
As the night wore on, one by one they drifted off to sleep. Despite his exhaustion, however, Legolas remained awake. He sat by the dying fire, staring into the golden-red embers as they flickered with their last pulse of life. He listened intently to the land around them, ignoring the soft breathing of his companions and Gimli's loud snoring. Nothing stirred, save for the sounds of the night. His mind began to wander, and before he knew it, he fell into a deep slumber.
The next morning, the company awoke feeling well-rested and refreshed, even Legolas. They set out at a steady pace and managed to make it through most of the Downs by nightfall. The next afternoon, as the Sun was beginning to set, they finally arrived in Bree.
'We're to meet them at the Prancing Pony,' said Merry.
Barliman Butterbur was still the owner of the Inn. He welcomed them cheerfully but made no fuss to their presence. In fact, he seemed not to recognize them at all, but merely gave them rooms to stay and went about his business once more.
'That is most strange, I must say,' Elessar murmured as they entered their suite of rooms. 'I expected to have to tell the old man to hush and not draw any eyes to us.'
'That is because the matter was already taken care of,' a deep, familiar voice spoke. Out of the shadows of the room rose a tall figure from his seat, dressed in white robes and a cloak of grey. The figure removed his hood to reveal the face of Gandalf. 'Apparently my presence can provide a vast improvement for Butterbur's memory—no doubt it may have something to do with a threat I made long ago of melting all the butter out of him.' The Wizard's eyes twinkled humorously.
'It is good to see you all, my friends,' he continued, 'but we have no time for happy reunions. There are pressing matters to be spoken of.'
'Such as the stirring of Evil in Mordor?' Pippin suggested.
'And the attacks on the villages of Rohan?' Merry added.
'Which will all somehow be tied into the reason why you've returned to Middle-earth?'
'You outrageously impatient and inquisitive Hobbits!' Gandalf exclaimed, unable to contain his laughter.
---
Everyone congregated into one room: Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel, Elessar, Faramir, Legolas, Gimli, and the Hobbits Merry and Pippin. At Gandalf's request, Elessar immediately spoke of all that had occurred. He also showed the standard they had taken from the group of Orcs they had fought.
'The situation is more grave than you realize,' Gandalf spoke. 'This new foe stems from the very Evil we all defeated fourteen years ago. It is the Heir of Sauron, a son born of his flesh and blood.'
Shock emanated throughout the room, followed by a heavy silence. Yet for Legolas, Gandalf's words only seemed to confirm some dim supposition deep within his mind. It was as if he had already known…
The phantom face appeared, with its wicked, violet eyes, as violet as the dye on the black standard. It rose from the Land of Mordor, the land of his father, and covered Middle-earth in Darkness—
The Elf-woman stood once more before him, beautiful and powerful. Her emerald eyes stared into his, enigmatic and captivating, as if she could see into his very soul. She reached out to him, and unlike before, she was able to touch him, grabbing hold of his forearm. His arm burned; her touch was like fire, yet he could not break away, she held him captive in her eyes, she spoke to him in a language he could not understand but still he knew her words…
'You are Blessed by the Valar,' she whispered. 'You are the one I foresaw so long ago.' She lifted the sleeve of his tunic and revealed the mark of an ancient rune on his skin. 'You are destined for great things, Legolas Greenleaf…'
The darkness consumed him and he knew no more.
---
Legolas was placed into a bed, still unconscious. During the course of his vision he had spoken aloud in a language only understood by Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadriel. Their faces had paled with considerable shock.
'Master Elrond,' Elessar addressed him quietly in Elvish. 'There is something I have not spoken of that I think you must know.'
'What is it, Elessar?'
'Legolas has confided to me of these dreams and visions he's been having. Some have been so powerful that he stopped breathing in the midst of them. He speaks of an Elf-woman—he knows not who she is, but senses a familiarity about her. Also, the Orcs that attacked us…in their foul tongue we heard that they'd been given orders to capture Legolas.'
Elrond became greatly troubled. He thanked Elessar and later, when the others had gone to bed, he told Gandalf and Galadriel what he had been told.
'It is as she told us,' Gandalf murmured. He glanced at Legolas' still form, then turned his gaze back to Elrond. 'Do you deny the will of Fate now, Master Elrond?'
---
Legolas awoke several hours later, his head reeling with pain. He attempted to rise from the bed but was stayed by a firm hand beside him. In the dim candlelight, he saw it was Lady Galadriel.
'You must rest, Legolas,' she said to him in Elvish. She handed him a mug of water, which he gratefully accepted. He drank quickly, wetting his parched mouth.
'What happened, Lady?' he asked hoarsely.
'You fell unconscious from your vision,' she replied. Her expression was full of concern. 'Do you remember what you dreamt?'
Legolas shook his head. 'The details are very vague…I cannot recall it entirely.' His head ached and his vision was blurry. He fell back onto the bed and into a dreamless sleep.
Galadriel lingered for a moment, deep in thought. Once more, we become pawns of Fate. Once more, we must account for the mistakes of the past.And in each instance, there are only more innocent victims.
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Post-It Note: So this chapter wasn't overly exciting, I know. I tried to make up for that by using Merry and Pippin as a bit of comic relief, so I hope you at least enjoyed that.
The next couple chapters are kind of going to have to be filler chapters, unfortunately. The characters have a lot of traveling to do...I realized I'm pretty much sending them all over Middle-earth. XD Just wanted to forewarn you, so please, bear with me. I'll try and make it as interesting as possible.
Also, if you've enjoyed this fanfic so far, please feel free to leave a review on the way out. The three C's are always welcome: comments, compliments, and criticisms. Just no flames, please. Because, trust me--I have a great deal more fire power than you could possibly have.
Stayed tuned for another chapter--and, hopefully very soon, my next short story!
--Lady Galadriel