Exodus

By: Alilacia

Rating: PG13

Feedback: None that I can think of. In fact, this story is pretty much entirely AU, so I doubt it. I shall let you know if there is.

Beta reader: Ying

Disclaimer:

I do not own Lord of the Rings, or anything to do with the film or books. That honour goes to Peter Jackson (et all) and J.R.R Tolkien. I have no permission what so ever to use these characters, will not receive any money for this, and I am doing this for my own enjoyment. And to pass the time between working during the day.

Note: The Characters (and concept of) Dehlfalhen and Glamferaen were created by Cassia and Siobhan and they were kind enough to let me borrow them for this story.

The story in which they were first introduced was called Siege of Dread and is posted at their Mellon Chronicles Website (go to Cassia's profile, and you'll find the link).

Again, these characters (and concept) are not mine, and if one wishes to use this (or any of the characters or concepts from the Mellon Chronicles series) email Cassia at or Siobhan.

Edit: Have also just been informed (thanks Cassia :D) that Saelons are indeed another invention of Cassia and Sio. So all the above wording applies to them as well.

Also, I am not fluent in Sindarin. Any mistakes are my own. I'm still learning -)

Summary:

"Strider, you have to understand a lot of things. There is much that I cannot tell you, much that only they can tell you. If you can find them. Only know that there was a darkness within them that they had been fighting with for so long, and when they found his body lying there..."

Events put into motion, the beginning of the end started long before it could be stopped. In all his years he had never considered what the loss of one life could have on the world, none of them had. It should have come to no surprise to him really, that when a pivotal figure was lost forever that his life was turned upside down, and nothing was the same again.

And do you know what the worst part was... it really was all his fault.


Exodus


Part Twelve - Voices of the Waters

Aragorn was surprised by how quickly Legolas made it back to their camp. Looking behind his friend into the trees, he could just make out the forms of other elves standing next to the ancient trunks.

"Fear not, Hethu. These elves mean you no harm. They will be travelling with you as far as Esgaroth, the lake city of men close to the other side of the forest." Aragorn explained quickly as the elves left the closely knit trees.

Legolas marched up, seizing Hethu by the arm. The man stared first at Legolas and then at the elves with wide eyes. Even though Aragorn had explained a little of what was to come while Legolas had been away, Hethu's fear had come back full force now that the elves were actually here to take him away.

"Are you sure, my prince, that it is safe to allow this man passage through our woods?"

Legolas turned to face the elf standing at the front of the line and nodded. Both elves were speaking in Sindarin as was common in Thranduil's realm. "Yes. This man is a simple trader and will be at home at Esgaroth. Worry not, this man is afraid of elves and will give you no trouble." As Legolas spoke, he shifted suddenly towards Hethu and the man automatically cringed away. "It is an involuntary action I fear, but should not hinder your journey across the woods. I thank you for your aide."

"You are most welcome, my prince. It is our pleasure to be of assistance."

Legolas nodded, resting his right hand against his heart and bowing his head. The other elves and Aragorn followed the prince's example and the patrol moved back into the trees.

As soon as the group had moved away into the forests of Legolas' home the two friends turned around and started making their way south. None knew what lay ahead but were resolved to see this tale through to its end.

Four days later, the pair had long passed the Anduin and were now following the Limlight as the rushing waters wound towards Fangorn forest. The day was warm and the sky was clear of clouds. Aragorn had wrapped his travelling cloak around his waist and welcomed the cool spray from the river on his skin. Legolas walked to his right, also enjoying the feeling of the waters on his face but not needing it to cool him down. He turned his head back to track the course of the river, enjoying the view behind him.

The river stretched out east then joined the Anduin and snaked south through the Brown Lands towards Rohan. The vast river glittered brightly in the sunlight like a million faceted jewels of varying colours. The wind picked up occasionally, brushing against the fast flowing surface of the water. When the spray arched high enough into the air, beams of coloured slight were painted onto the sky for a split second, turning the sky all the colours of the world.

Legolas turned away from the sight with a smile. It was little things like that, small mysteries like rainbows, which made nature so beautiful. Little things like that captured Legolas' heart so much more than anything else he had encountered so far and held them all dear. For him, all these little moments in life were around the times that he had escaped from the palace and the rush of daily life. He loved his home, and his family, but his position in Thranduil's council - both as his son and crown prince - meant that his life was not his own.

The prince rarely had a moment where he could shed the mantle of his title and simply be Legolas.

Fortunately his friends knew that all too well and would occasionally drag him out of the palace once all the meetings and councils of the day were over, and they would spend hours in the forests acting like elflings again.

But seeing the river like this... it sparked off a deep feeling within Legolas. For a single, almost terrifying moment, the river seemed to spread - filling up his vision. Legolas blinked and for a split second was not standing on the fertile fields of the Celebrant, but was standing on a vast cliff with the ocean spread before him. A strange sound passed by his ears only to be swallowed by the roaring of the water as it suddenly surged up the cliff side. Legolas stood transfixed as the water threatened to swallow him whole and drag him under, when a hand wrapped around his upper arm.

"Legolas, are you alright my friend?"

He blinked and the roaring of the waves faded. He turned, expecting to see white sandy beaches and feeling the cooling spray of the ocean waves on his face. He did indeed feel the spray of water on his face, but the beaches were gone from his sight. In its place was the concerned face of his dear friend. He reached up, clasped his friends' hand where it was resting on his arm and nodded.

"I am fine, Aragorn. Forgive me; I was lost in thought for a moment."

Aragorn stared at him closely for a moment, certain that there was something more. But there was something in the elf's eyes that begged him to drop the subject and he did. His attention was diverted when he noticed small tracks in the lush green floor below their feet.

The ranger bent at the knees and gently traced his fingers through the slightly trampled grass. The imprint was barely there, but Aragorn knew what he was looking for. And he had seen it several times.

Aragorn looked back up to Legolas, hope sparking in his eyes. "We're on the right trail."

"We are." Legolas agreed, his eyes looking into the forest that was just over a days walk away. The darkness seemed to veil the trees and they lingered so closely together that Legolas could barely pierce the gloom. His brow furrowed and he looked closer, certain that he had seen something moving within the trees. When nothing else moved, he shook his head and looked away.

With their discovery hastening their steps, they travelled through the night well into the next morning. Taking a small break to restore their bodies and to check their path, the friends carried on their journey just as the sun was nearing her peak in the sky.

Aragorn had noticed that the closer they grew to this forest, the more uneasy Legolas was becoming. Aragorn had been willing to enter the forest as soon as they reached it but Legolas had held him back. The ranger could see that Legolas was awed a fair amount by the vast trees but there was still something that clearly worried the elf. And so it was that Aragorn was seeking out some firewood to build a fire to chase away the chill of the late evening.

"Do not take from the trees, Estel." Legolas whispered, his eyes not leaving the trees. "Take only what is dead."

Aragorn nodded, taking the warning to heart. Now that night was falling, there was something a little disconcerting about this wood that had seemed so lovely during the day.

Legolas volunteered to take the first watch with Aragorn taking the watch just as the moon started to reach her peak in the starry sky. Initially, Legolas was too uneasy to sleep but eventually his eyes glazed over and his body relaxed.

Aragorn sat with his back away from the fire, only moving to collect things from his pack and to stoke the fire. The smoke from his pipe drifted up into the night air and he breathed in the fumes deeply. They lulled and calmed him and the watch went quickly.

They did not notice the two pairs of eyes watching them from deep within the trees.


Halfway through the day, the pair finished having something small to eat and they broke down their small camp. Following the footsteps, Aragorn had made the decision early on to head into Fangorn forest.

The forest floor was dark and Aragorn was too preoccupied in following the faint tracks to really pay attention to their surroundings. Legolas was under no such restriction and his gaze was drawn to the trees. There was something about them that made the elf feel so young, so naive compared to all they had seen. He knew very little of Fangorn, only that it had been around for so many more years than he himself had lived.

What was most disconcerting to the elf was that when he reached out to the trees, none of them answered. There wasn't even the brushing against his mind that said they were there. Legolas looked away from the trees, following Aragorn as the ranger twisted his path suddenly to the south. He had to rely on Aragorn's skill as a tracker, which seemed to far surpass his own, and settled back to watch his friend work. After a few moments, the elf glanced back on impulse, intending to catch the last sight of sunlight before they ventured too far into the wood.

But when he looked back, the path they had been walking was gone, instead arching back to the left into what looked like another clearing. The elf frowned, turning his head forwards, and then looked back once more at where the path should have been.

It may have sounded strange, and it did sound strange to Legolas, but the elf was considering at the moment that maybe this forest did have some sort of a life all of its own. Something he had never seen before. After all, trees cannot just get up and walk, can they?

A shout from Strider up ahead captured his attention and he ran to his friend's side. He had found more tracks, these leading deeper into the heart of the forest.

For hours they followed them, sometimes doubling back on themselves, sometimes heading for a long time deep into the darkness of the trees. Dappled sunlight shone through, providing the only source of illumination that they had.

With the pressing of the trees, the human and elf did not realise that day had turned to night until they stepped out into a clearing and all had gone dark. Up until this point, the travellers had thought that the lack of light was due to the tightly packed trees. They stopped in the clearing, glancing up at the sky. Neither knew how far into the forest they were, nor which direction to take now to head out of it. So, they looked at one another and were about to head back into the trees to make some kind of a camp when they saw a single figure move out of the trees.

Legolas cursed under his breath for not noticing before. Aragorn was staring at the hooded figure with a frown on his place. The cloak was a rich blue, looking black in the sparse light, and the two friends could not see under the cloak to find out this person's identity.

Suddenly a pale, slender hand appeared from under the folds and flicked the hood back. The material fell back around his shoulders and keen silver eyes peered out at the human in the light of the moon.

Aragorn gasped.

TBC...

Reviews:

lindahoyland – Thank you -smiles-

Beling – "I shall utter a very uneloquent WOW.

That memory of Legolas and young Estel was simply beautiful. I was so caught up in it that I completely forgot the rest of the story and just enjoyed that brief memory. It was wonderful...touching and warm and so full of love." -blushes- Thank you. This was one of the last scenes I added in, and I loved writing it. I've always loved reading about the relationship between Legolas and a young Estel, so when presented with the chance (finally) to write one myself, I couldn't pass it up :D

"Gosh I hope you write more of these kinds of memories from that time...I would love it!" I can't speak for the future, but I would like to write more of these types of memories again. I can't say when the bunny will bite again, but you have got me thinking…

"The whole scenario about the tree and how it sees was perfectly logical and very believable. Well done!" I'm glad about that. I was a little worried about that aspect of the scene.

"Please write more Legolas and young Estel :)" I'll certainly try, and think about it at least.:)