Chapter 25

Finally, the long-awaited, or (in some cases) dreaded day had come. Today, Aragorn would take lady Arwen as his wife, thusly forming a strong alliance between the kingdom of Gondor and Rivendell. It was a day of celebration and as if to confirm this, the sun was shining brightly.

But not everyone was able to enjoy this truly wonderful day, least of all the boy who used to be the youngest prince of Mirkwood. To Legolas, the sunshine seemed to be there only to mock the sadness in his heart. Seeking to get away from the cheerful voices, he had ventured out of the city and finally reached to ruins of Osgiliath, the former capital of Gondor, which had been destroyed by orcs a long time ago. Legolas smiled, remembering how Aragorn used to tell him about the great events of the past while they were sitting in front of the fire. Back then, Legolas had been happy, still under the illusion that he might one day gain Aragorn's love.

Things had changed since then and now he was aimlessly wandering through the ruins alone; not even a bird was there to keep him company. The silence was almost eerie, but Legolas found some measure of comfort in it, thinking that it fit his mood.

After a while, he sat down on a hill, from where he had an excellent view of the landscape surrounding Osgiliath. First, his gaze fell to the vast plains in the North. Even for his sharp elven-eyes, the distance would have been to great, but he knew somewhere far behind those seemingly endless lands lay Mirkwood, his home. Whispering a silent goodbye to the wind, he turned away, now facing the West, where in a few hours the sun would vanish. As soon as the sun had completely disappeared, his life would end, he knew that, but couldn't bring himself to care.

Judging from the position of the sun, it was around noon. *So the ceremony is already over. Aragorn is now wed to Arwen. * ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Around noon, two riders were quickly approaching Minas Tirith, both of them wearing grey cloaks that hid their faces. The sun was still shining brightly and no cloud was covering the azure sky, but when the two riders passed the ruins of Osgiliath, a single breeze caressed the grass.

The two riders stopped instantly, both of them listening carefully. After some time, one of them continued towards Minas Tirith, while the other turned to ride into the direction of Osgiliath

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Aragorn was tapping his foot impatiently –a habit he had taken up from Arwen. Although he had barely slept last night, he was now very much awake and wanted to get over with the wedding as soon as possible. Where were Arwen and Faramir? *And where is Gavin? * What was taking them so long? The longer he waited, the stronger became the uneasiness in his heart that has kept him from sleeping. Trying to force it down, the king of men briefly closed his eyes.

Upon reopening them, he gave a small gasp of surprise, seeing Arwen stand right in front of him.

'So deep in thoughts that you don't even notice it when the woman you are about to marry enters the room?' Relieved, Aragorn noticed that she was smiling gently. 'What were you thinking about?'

'You…us…the wedding. I…can't wait until we are finally wed.' Aragorn's nervousness increased, seeing her smile widen.

'You are a terrible liar, my dear Aragorn. One would have to be blind to miss how you tense every time this wedding is mentioned. This should be the most wonderful day of our lives, but you look as if you were attending a funeral. Why will you not tell me what troubles you?'

'Please forgive me, I don't know what's wrong with me…'

'Oh, but I think I do. That is why I came here. We need to talk.'

'But the ceremony will start soon, and we should not be late at our own wedding. Can't this wait until later?'

'No, it can't. We need to talk now.'

Realizing that there was no point in arguing with Arwen, Aragorn nodded his head. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Faramir was scanning his surroundings carefully. He let out a sigh of relieve when he finally noticed a slim figure sitting under a tree on a small hill. He had noticed Gavin leaving the city and, following a sudden impulse, decided to follow him. But now he hesitated, not sure if his company was welcome. The boy obviously wanted to be alone, why else would he have chosen to come here?

Sensing that someone was watching him, Legolas lifted his head to meet Faramir's worried gaze. Wondering why the man would follow him here when he should be attending the feast, the prince nodded his head in greeting, inviting the man to join him.

Reaching Gavin, Faramir was shocked to see the deep sadness in those blue eyes. Acting instinctively, he wrapped his arms around the boy, offering as much comfort as he could.

Feeling strong arms wrap around him, Legolas stiffened for a moment until he allowed himself to relax. When Aragorn had told him he would marry Arwen, the prince had smiled; none of his feelings had reached the surface when Aragorn had described the details of the ceremony to him; but now that Faramir was trying to comfort him, he could control himself no longer and started to cry, not caring what the man would think of him.

Realising that the boy was crying, Faramir tightened his hold on him. "Shh… please don't cry. I do not know what troubles you so greatly, but I am sure everything will be all right in the end…If only I knew how I can help you."

Legolas shook his head. He appreciated the comfort that was given to him, but no one could help him, he knew that. Still, it was good to know that he was not alone.

Faramir did not know what to do. He was an excellent advisor, but how was he supposed to deal with a problem when he did not even know what was wrong. All that he knew was that he would do everything in his power to make Gavin feel better. It felt just wrong that one so gentle should endure so much pain.

Guiltily, Faramir remembered that he had also hurt the boy, but he would try to make it up to him.

Faramir noted with relief that the sobbing had finally stopped.

"Get away from him! NOW!"

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Aragorn was shifting uneasily, having no idea what to expect. 'Arwen, I… Could you please tell me what this is all about?'

'Don't you understand? This is about you. I may not be as intelligent as my father, but I have eyes to see; and when I look at you, I see honour and kindness, I see a king who is willing to sacrifice his own happiness in order to keep his people save and I see a man who is deeply in love. You are everything I ever wanted in a man and so much more, but there is one problem: You don't love me.'

'Arwen…'

'No, please don't say anything. You know I am right. You don't love me and you probably never did, at least not like a man should love his wife. To be completely honest, I don't think I really love you either. I was in love with the thought of being in love, nothing else.

There is only one thing I would like to know. It was only yesterday that I admitted the truth to myself, only then did I realise that my feelings for you cannot be described as love. But you have been acting strangely around me for several months; since I came here I noticed that something was different…you were different. So tell me, why did you still pretend that you loved me when your heart belonged to someone else? Why marry me?'

For a long time, Aragorn could only stare at Arwen in disbelief. Normally, she seemed so young and carefree, but now he saw wisdom in her eyes that reminded him of Elrond.

He knew that Arwen was telling the truth, but how could he explain his behaviour to her?

'I did not want this to happen, please believe me, I never wanted to hurt you…'

'I already told you that there is no need to worry for me.'

'…but I also had to think about Gondor. Orc attacks are increasing and we do not have the strength to fight them off much longer. We need the alliance with your father's realm, to defend our lands…'

'And you think that forcing yourself and my daughter into a loveless marriage is the right way to achieve such an alliance?'

Aragorn spun around in shock upon hearing Elrond's voice. He had not noticed the half-elf enter. Behind Elrond, he noticed a figure in a grey riding-cloak. Realising that he had not yet answered Elrond's question, he forced himself to meet the others grey eyes.

'I did not know what else to do.' Aragorn was searching the other for any kind of reaction to the fact that he had betrayed him and his daughter but found none. What was he supposed to do now? Elrond had doubtlessly heard most of their conversation, so there was no point in denying that he did not love Arwen. Would they understand that he had only done what he thought was best for his people?

'Do you think so little of me?' At this question, Aragorn looked up in confusion.

'Do you really think I would let those foul beings invade Gondor just because you don't want to marry Arwen? To act like this, one would have to be extremely cruel and selfish indeed. Do you think of me as selfish and cruel?'

'No, but I thought…'

'You think too much, or perhaps not enough. I still remember the times when you were but a child; you used to come and visit us every summer and during a thunderstorm, you would hide under your bed. Aragorn, you are my nephew and I love you. I would never turn you down when you are in need of help, don't you know that.'

Finally comprehending the meaning of those words, Aragorn smiled hesitantly. 'Forgive me, I was a fool.'

'There is nothing to forgive, we all make mistakes from time to time.'

'I really hate to disturb, but I would like to know where Legolas is.' The stranger that had accompanied Elrond had taken off the hood and Aragorn noticed with amazement, that he was an elf. Something about his face and the long blonde hair seemed familiar to him, but he couldn't quite explain why.

'Legolas? I have never heard that name before, but if you tell me who you are…'

He was interrupted by a servant who had come to ask what he should tell the waiting wedding-guests. For a moment, the man hesitated, unsure of what to do; then Arwen announced that she would take care of the guests. Elrond also excused himself, which left Aragorn alone with the unfamiliar elf who was looking at him as if trying to see into his soul.

'Tell me, is it true what you just said? That you only wanted to marry Arwen to keep your lands safe?

'Yes.'

'But you love someone else?' Aragorn was not in the habit of discussing his feelings with strangers, but something told him to answer to this strange elf.

'Yes.'

'Who?'

'A friend of mine that came with me to Gondor about half a year ago…'

'How do you know you really love him? Why are you so sure this feeling will not pass, given enough time?'

'I just know it. Whenever I close my eyes, I see his face. I feel incomplete when he is away. Words cannot describe the feelings he woke in me. When he was hurt…'

'Hurt?!'

'Someone tried to stab him with a knife, only three weeks ago.' Confused, Aragorn noticed that the other was shaking. 'But why do you ask all this? Do you know him? Do you know Gavin?'

'Gavin…Yes, I know him. He is my son.'

'Your son? But you are an elf and he is human!'

'No, he is not…His appearance might be that of a human, but he is still Legolas, my son.'

'I don't understand.'

'Of course you don't. Let me explain. My people life in Mirkwood, we have been avoiding contact to the rest of Middle Earth for several centuries, but upon reaching maturity, every citizen is allowed to venture outside of my realm to explore different countries. There is only one rule: Contact to everyone who is not of elfish blood must be avoided at all costs. But Legolas broke this rule. He happened to see a man being attacked by a pack of orcs and unable to turn away, he came to the man's aid. Fortunately, the man was unconscious and therefore didn't see him, but my son was fascinated with the human. He followed him for some time and even came to the man's home on several occasions to watch him.

Never did he reveal himself to the man, but with every moment he spent near him, he fell more and more in love.'

Aragorn's eyes widened as he remembered something. 'When I was attacked by orcs, I became unconscious during the fight. When I woke up, my men were there and I believed they had chased them away, but there were arrows…arrows of a making I had never seen before… Do you mean to tell me that it was your son that saved my life?'

Thranduil nodded. 'Yes, but this is only the beginning…

…

'…So now that you know Legolas loves you, what are you going to do?'

Thranduil had told the man everything that had happened. When he had left Mirkwood, his intention had been to bring Legolas back home, but he had changed his mind. Aragorn's willingness to sacrifice himself for the sake of his people had made a great impression on the Woodland-king, greater than the most passionate vows of love could have done; and, like Arwen, he could see the man's love for his son in his eyes. Who was he to stand in the way of true love?

'Whatever he is going to do, he should decide quickly, as there are only five minutes left until the sun has completely disappeared behind the horizon.'

Saruman was standing in the doorway, watching them with unconcealed scorn.

'The wedding was cancelled. You have no more power over my son.'

'Oh, do you think so? Well, I really hate to crush your hopes, but the thing is…Legolas believes that his beloved Aragorn is wed, that should be quite enough to break his heart, don't you think? Of course, if you reach him in time to tell him…, but as you have absolutely no idea where he is, I fear our dear prince will lose his life after all. Sad, isn't it? Now please excuse me, but I don't want to miss this…'

Cruel laughter echoed through the room as Saruman vanished in grey cloud.

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Faramir released the boy, ready to defend them against any evil that might try to attack, but soon his features relaxed, recognising that their 'attacker' was no one else but Haldir.

Still, the elf seemed rather furious, so Faramir judged that it would be better to explain his actions.

"He came here all by himself and I followed to see if he was all right."

Haldir's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "When I left, you were ready to do anything to get him out of the city. And wasn't it you that made me leave by sending a false message?"

"I cannot deny this, but now I regret my actions. I thought that Gavin was a danger to Aragorn, but now I see that I was wrong. I want to help."

Deciding to believe the man for now, Haldir turned his attention towards Legolas, shocked to see him in such a state. The once golden hair was now grey and full of dust; the blue eyes were swimming with tears. But there was something else…

Kneeling in front of Legolas, he searched the other's eyes. "Aragorn is wed to Arwen, is he not?" It was not more than a whisper, so quiet that Faramir had almost missed it. But the elf was not looking at him.

"Yes. I wasn't able to attend, as I was following Gavin, but the ceremony took place this morning."

"Then I have come too late."

"But I don't understand…"

"No, you don't understand! You don't understand anything! You decided that Legolas was a danger to the kingdom without ever giving him a chance to proof himself!" Trying to control his anger, Haldir stood. He tried to remind himself that Faramir had only done what he had thought was best for his king, but right now he didn't care. The only thing that mattered was that Aragorn had made a terrible mistake. And Legolas would have to pay the price.

"Won't you tell me what is happening? I know I made mistakes, but I would like to understand. Who is he? And why do you call him Legolas?"

Legolas nodded to show that he wanted Haldir to tell. Faramir had been there for him when he was alone and therefore deserved to know the truth.

And so Haldir started to tell everything that had happened, beginning with the first time Legolas had seen Aragorn. When he had finished, Faramir was looking at Legolas in amazement.

"So…he is an elf? And he saved Aragorn's life, after that he became human to be able to see Aragorn again, and now he is dying because Aragorn is married to Arwen?"

"Exactly."

"But isn't there anything we can do to help? This is not right."

"No, it is not right, but there is absolutely nothing we can do about it now. It's too late."

"I am so sorry…please forgive me, I did not know what I was doing."

"This is not your fault alone. You didn't know this wedding would kill him."

"You don't understand…it was me…I…I tried to kill him. Gav…Legolas, it was me who stabbed you with that knife."

"You did WHAT?" Only the hold Legolas had on his arm kept Haldir from throwing himself at the man.

"I didn't know what I was doing, you must believe me. If I could change the past, I would, but Saruman said it was the only way…"

"Saruman! So this was his doing. I should have known he would do anything to keep Legolas away from Aragorn. Well, he must be extremely pleased with you for serving him so well."

"No, he is not." Faramir didn't dare to look at the two elves in front of him as he spoke. "He is not pleased, because I failed him. I did not succeed in killing Legolas, for which I am glad, I did not even succeed in keeping him and Aragorn apart, not really. I could convince him to go through with the wedding, but he does not love Arwen, he never did." Taking a deep breath, Faramir continued, now meeting Legolas' questioning eyes. "From the moment he brought you here, I knew it, it was in his eyes when he looked at you, it was in his voice every time he spoke your name. Legolas, Aragorn loves you with all his heart, never doubt that."

And as he spoke those words, the last rays of sunlight disappeared behind the horizon.

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Aragorn was beginning to grow desperate. His servants were searching the whole city for any signs of the boy *elf* he corrected himself, but so far without result. It was growing dark and he had the terrible feeling that he came to late to save his beloved. Oh, why had he never told Legolas how he really felt about him? If only he had known…

'Don't give up hope, we may yet find him. Saruman has told lies before.'

'But we have searched the whole city! He is neither in his rooms nor in the gardens. I even checked Haldir's old quarters…'

Thranduil's sharp intake of breath interrupted Aragorn. 'Haldir! I forgot about him! We met in Lothlorien and he agreed to accompany me here. Shortly before we reached the city, he suddenly felt the need to ride to Osgiliath, why, I do not know. But he should have reached Minas Tirith by now.'

'Osgiliath! Of course, it would be a perfect hiding place for someone who wishes to be alone. We must go there immediately!'

'I don't think that will be necessary.'

Upon hearing Saruman's voice, Aragorn spun around, ready to kill the evil wizard.

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Legolas had heard most of Faramir's speech without really caring what the other had to say, he could not even bring himself to react to the knowledge that Faramir had tried to kill him. But one sentence rang clearly through his clouded mind. "…Aragorn loves you with all his heart…." This could not be true, but then again, why should Faramir lie to him? "…Aragorn loves you…"

"He loves me?" The voice was soft, barely audible, but it was definitely there and both the elf and the man stared at Legolas in amazement, disbelief and newly found hope clearly visible in their faces.

"Yes, he does. But you…you speak, but your appearance is still that of a human."

"I am not sure, but it seems that the spell is weakening, perhaps because I now know that Aragorn loves me."

"Still, as Aragorn is married, you should be dead by now."

"If he is married," Haldir interrupted "which I sincerely doubt. Aragorn loves Legolas, you say, and as Legolas obviously is very much alive, there is only one possibility: the ceremony must have been cancelled there is no other explanation."

"But then I must go to him!" Legolas jumped up from the ground and steps into the direction of Minas Tirith with Haldir and Faramir following.

"No!" Unable to watch how all his plans vanished into nothing, Saruman left his hiding-place in order to attack the prince.

None of them could later explain how it happened. Was it a mere coincidence or the same force that had caused Haldir to head for Osgiliath? Suddenly, the wizard tripped over a stone and fell to the ground. During the fall, let go off his staff, which landed directly in front of Haldir. Without hesitation, he picked it up and without taking his eyes from his fallen enemy, he gave it to Legolas.

'My prince, I believe this staff is much to heavy for such an old man. Perhaps we should free him from this weight, what do you think?'

As an answer, a loud crack could be heard as Legolas broke the staff in two and threw it as far away as he could.

'Let's go, we have already wasted enough time here. I can't wait to talk to Aragorn.' Smiling in understanding, Haldir nodded. 'You can take my horse, Faramir and I will follow.'

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'You are alive' Slowly, Aragorn reached out to touch Legolas' face, afraid that his beloved might vanish as soon as he reached him. But he didn't. Legolas stayed exactly where he was, his eyes shining with joy.

'But your voice, I thought…'

Unsure if he should laugh or scream, the prince rolled his eyes. This wasn't exactly the romantic promise of eternal love he had expected, but then again, this was Aragorn and the man had never been good at expressing his feelings. 'Exactly, my voice. Saruman only used it to manipulate people.'

'…and you gave it to him, only to be with me. I have been such a fool, how could you ever forgive me? I don't know what to say…'

'Tell me, do you love me? And don't even think about lying to me.'

'Of course I love you, I have loved you from the moment I first saw you and I promise to prove it to you, if only…' Aragorn never got a chance to finish his sentence, as he was silenced by a pair of soft lips on his.

Realising that his reunion with Legolas would have to wait, Thranduil silently left the room to give the two lovers some privacy.

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…a few weeks later

Summer had come to the land and the people of Gondor had finally accepted that they would not get a queen after all. But there were few who complained, as none had ever seen their king that happy. It was obvious for everyone with eyes to see that Aragorn and the blonde elf-prince were made for each other.

How their king had met his beautiful companion, they did not know, as only a few remembered the quite boy that had come to Minas Tirith more than eight moons ago and even fewer were able to guess the truth, or at least part of it. But everyone knew that those two were deeply in love and they felt happy for their king.

In spite of the calling-off of the wedding, Gondor had formed an alliance with Rivendell and another with Mirkwood, the rediscovered realm of king Thranduil.

Standing on the balcony of his chamber, Faramir had a perfect view of the gardens, where he could see two figures on the grass, one resting his head on the other's lap. Legolas had forgiven him his past actions, as he had been under the spell of Saruman. It would take a while for them to built a real friendship, but all they needed was time.

Strong arms encircled his waist and he leaned back against his lover. "They look good together, do they not? I really hope they will be happy."

"Oh, I am sure they will." Haldir chuckled softly. "Those two are meant to be together and no spell, however powerful it may be, could keep them apart. It might take some time, but love always finds a way."

~The End~

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So this is the end, I really hope you liked it. Please, tell me what you think.

Anyway, I would like to thank everyone who read and reviewed this story. I would never have finished this without you, so thanks to everyone.

Krystal Ara Malfoy, Jasini, Michelle, angelbird12241, Faer1, Legolas19, Iara, Nina, shriekingviolet, Bonnie Lass, Dur En Thurin Naur, MyGirlCrais,  Hana-Heart: Thank you all so much. I hope the ending did not disappoint you

Magical Rainflier: Actually, that's the version I based this fic on. The original idea was that Legolas died in the end, but I just couldn't bring myself to kill Leggy

Forsaken^On3: No offence taken! I myself got the feeling that this was getting a bit too long.