Chapter 11: Leaving Mirkwood
By: Banana Nut Muffin
Don't own 'em.
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Legolas drew a long, shuddered breath. E'thane held onto him more tightly. Ainu stared at the young elf before him. As quick as a blink of the eyes, he grabbed a sword from one of the guards, and lunged himself at Legolas, knocking him to the ground. E'thane jumped back, and tried to get him off. "Since the desert did not kill you, I'll have to do it myself!" Ainu cried, and tried to thrust the sword at Legolas. But before he could, he was kicked away. He was surrounded by dwarves. He looked around in fear. They all held axes, sharp axes.
"You'd be better off not trying that again." The leader said.
"Get them!" Ainu shouted, and his elves moved forward. Rivendell elves and dwarves were soon in a fierce clash of sword, arrow, and axe. E'thane helped Legolas up and away from the battle.
"Brother, are you alright?" He asked. Legolas nodded, breathing hard. E'thane looked at him, worry in his eyes. "You aren't ok. Come, we must get you to a safe place." He said. Legolas shook his head, and stood, using the wall as support. His eyes were fixed on the battle. Blood was already staining the stones of the courtyard. Few dwarves and Rivendell elves were on the ground, dead, but more of the desert elves were dead. Though he had been in the battle for Helms Deep, the battle for Gondor, and the battle at the Black Gate, seeing death this close to his home was horrible. His heart ached.
It was a matter of minutes before the desert elves were all dead. The remaining Rivendell elves and the dwarves searched for those who were still alive. The leader of the dwarves came to Legolas.
"Some of my kin have died here today, but be sure they did not die in vain. They died for you, so you could reclaim the kingdom that has been kind to use this past year. We hope that someday, elves and dwarves together will become friends, and we will no longer remember the dark days." He said. Legolas mustered a smile. He stood up and held a hand out to the dwarf. They shook hands.
"There will be a place cleared between our homes, a place for the elves and the dwarves who died in this battle." Legolas said. He nodded. Elrond, the twins, Thranduil, and hobbits soon came to his side.
"Legolas, how are you feeling?" Thranduil asked his son. Legolas opened his mouth to speak, but E'thane answered for him.
"He needs rest. Do not listen to him for he will tell you otherwise." They laughed, and Legolas sighed.
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True to what he said, the elves and dwarves made a place in the Mirkwood forest and buried the dead there. They had a memorial, and soon, the dwarves returned to the Lonely Mountain. Legolas had ordered that all the blood be removed from the stones of the courtyard, and that the dead desert elves were to be burned outside the forest. Mirkwood natives were more than happy to drag the dead outside the forest and burn their remains. Legolas thanked the Rivendell elves a thousand times over, and they just shook their heads and said that they knew Mirkwood would do the same. Then the elves soldiers left Mirkwood, and went on their way. Elrond and the twins were to stay a little longer. Now, mind you, this was all the same day as the battle. By sunset, and all the matters were settled regarding the battle and the elves and dwarves, Legolas was ready to return inside. When he opened the doors, elves clad in Mirkwood armor rushed out. Merry and Pippin were among them.
"We remember them." Pippin said. Legolas smiled, and E'thane mentally slapped himself for forgetting the guards locked in the dungeon. The guards were fed and were sent home for the next month. As Legolas watched the guards leave, his vision clouded and he started to sway. Elrond noticed this and ran to his side, catching him before he fell to the ground.
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Legolas was placed in his bed, his friends and family surrounding him. "He has dealt with much today." Elrond said, pressing a cool cloth to his face. They all nodded in agreement.
"Father, you must tell me of what happened!" E'thane said. Thranduil looked at his youngest son.
"I do not know the whole story, but I will tell you what I know. Legolas may tell you his side of the story. But you must tell me what happened here while Legolas was gone." He said. E'thane agreed, and all sat in Legolas's room, listening to Thranduil's account of what happened, and then to E'thane and the hobbits tell of their story.
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Three days passed. Elrond and the twins were still in Mirkwood, and Thranduil was taking care of fixing the palace back up to the way it used to be. It was early morning on the third day when Legolas opened his eyes. He looked around, and saw his room. It looked the same as it always had. "You sleep too much, big brother." E'thane said. Legolas blinked and sat up. He saw E'thane in his doorway. Legolas smiled and E'thane ran to embrace his brother. E'thane helped Legolas to dress and to fix his hair, and then placed the crown upon his head. "Our king returns home."
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End of Chapter 11
I'm undecided on wether or not I should go on. I mean, yeah. So that means YOU have to review so I know your thoughts. Comments welcomed and flames accepted, but probably won't stay long on the board, unless they are good reasonable flames. Now, I'd just like to point out one more time. This is AU, which means alternate universe, which means that by the power of my fingers and the keyboard, I changed whatever I wanted to make the story flow.
Peace Out~
Banana Nut MuffinÂ