Chapter twenty-eight – Preparation
The year 2941 of the Third Age, July 15th
The moment Legolas set foot inside the hectic space between the forest and the edge of the cliff, which made point seven, he was approached by several captains and warriors, needing advice, orders, or just asking about where he had been and if he was all right. Legolas handled everything calmly. He answered anything that he could and otherwise he used the excuse that he had not yet been briefed about the plans that the King had already laid out.
He had slept the whole day yesterday as well as all the way through the night. Alfirin had woken him a couple of times to shove food inside him but otherwise he had threatened him to sleep and had no doubt also spiked his food with sleeping herbs. Finally when he had woken that morning he hadn't been able to force his body to rest completely so he had laid slumbering until the afternoon at Alfirin's insistence.
His minder had practically sat on him to keep him from leaving, but somewhere deep down Legolas was thankful for it because he already felt that he was more capable of handling the stress that was to come.
"I need to go now Alfirin, no matter how much more you think I need to rest." Legolas said as he straightened out and swung his saddlebag over his shoulder.
"Leave your bag here and you can come back here to sleep at night," Alfirin said and reached up to take Legolas' bag off his shoulder once more. "I will not mind sharing my hideout with you and we both know that if you sleep in the middle of the point then you will constantly be disturbed."
Legolas nodded even as Alfirin was already on his way into the hideout with his bag. When his minder came out he asked, "So what are you going to do now?"
"I'll go out under the trees, see if they will point me in the direction of some stray orcs." Alfirin said, a feral smile appearing on his lips and a fire lit in his yellow and green eyes in almost wolfish anticipation as he gazed into nothingness. A moment later his eyes snapped to Legolas' once more the look inside them changed to something of a more threatening nature, "I will be back by midnight and if I do not find you here already I will personally seek you out and drag you back here by the scruff of your neck."
He had no doubt that Alfirin would carry out his threat if it came to that. Theoretically he had the strength to subdue his minder, they both knew it, but Alfirin had been like a second father to him throughout his life and the amount of respect that he had for him was almost unparalleled.
"Legolas!"
Legolas jerked his head up at the sound of his name being shouted and his eyes immediately landed on his father who was standing before the octangular building on the talan they had climbed onto when they had first arrived. He father stood there looking like a King, but Legolas knew him well enough to see the relief and the gladness in his eyes.
"Get up here!" Thranduil commanded. Legolas nodded and excused himself from those who had been flocking him before striding over to the rope ladder that led up into the tree. Within minutes he found himself giving his father the costmary bow and coming to stand before him.
Thranduil smiled to him, a small smile full of contradicting emotions both sad and happy. "How are you feeling?" He asked so lowly that Legolas knew no others could hear their conversation.
"I'm well Ada," he answered, returning the smile. "Alfirin has practically forced me to sleep right until now and has force fed me several times, so I'm on the mend."
Thranduil chuckled at that, "And where is our favorite wood elf?"
"He is out on his own looking for stray orcs but he will be back by midnight to check if I've returned to his hideout."
Thranduil nodded and even though he knew that they could easily be seen where they were standing he couldn't refrain himself from reaching out and placing the palm of his hand against Legolas' cheek in a loving gesture. He knew in his mind that the soon-to-be battlefield was no place for them to be father and son instead of King and Commander, but his heart did not have the same knowledge.
"Your headache is gone?"
"Almost, it is nothing more than a lingering shadow of what has been."
Thranduil moved his hand from Legolas' cheek and placed it against his chest instead, right over his heart. The steady thumps of its beat sounded strongly underneath his palm. "And your heart…?" Thranduil's eyes were worried and sad as he spoke, "I heard about what happened to the rest of your team Legolas… I'm so sorry."
Thranduil could do nothing but watch as Legolas' eyes darkened and lost their focus. For a moment Legolas seemed to be somewhere else but then his eyes once more focused on his and he said in a quiet voice, "I have lost many comrades on the battlefield in my life… I have been fighting for a long enough time and been close to death so many times that I know how quickly and how easily one's luck can run out. Even through this though, there is nothing else we can do but continue to fight to honor all of those who have given their lives for the cause."
Legolas reached up and took his father's hand and drew it away from his chest before squeezing it. "I can say this, though," he said, "if I could have spared myself the grief of losing Osbon, Ecthel, Thand, Maer, and Amath then I would have, but I know that none of them would have wanted me to give in to it. We went into this fighting and we will continue to do so…"
Thranduil slowly let go of a breath while bowing his head, after a moment he nodded and squeezed Legolas' hand. The moment he let go of it, he raised his head again and his King had replaced his worried father.
"Come with me," Thranduil said.
Legolas nodded and followed his father into the octangular building. There was a long table inside and seated at it were the three ring bearers, Gandalf, Galadriel, and Elrond. The three were obviously waiting for them and their eyes turned to them the moment they entered the building.
Legolas pretended not to notice how his father's aura became cold and angry the moment he was with the three bearers and bowed instead, greeting them softly, "elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo." [A star shines upon the hour of our meeting.]
"Good afternoon," Gandalf said in return, puffing his pipe and smiling into his beard. Galadriel eyed him with a fond look in her starlit eyes before turning them to him once more and inclining her head in a graceful movement. Legolas did the same in return.
"How are you feeling?" Elrond asked worriedly as he stood up and walked over to him. Legolas could see the guilt and the sadness in his eyes.
"I have regained much of my strength and my headache is greatly reduced," Legolas said truthfully. "You need not worry Elrond."
"Yet something does worry you," Galadriel's voice sounded through the building. Legolas raised his gaze from Elrond and locked eyes with the Queen of the Golden Wood, her deep blue eyes filled with so much knowledge.
"Yes," Legolas answered. He then gestured for Elrond to take his seat once more, a glance told him that his father was leaning against one of the walls, apparently not wishing to sit down at the table with the ring bearers. Inside himself he knew that the relationship between the three elven realms was also at stake should he fail because he didn't think his father would be able to forgive the others for not doing more.
With a sigh Legolas moved over to the table but continued to stand as well. "Sauron has been able to perceive me in the seconds before I connect with the rings because at that moment I have to expose myself completely to allow such a tight connection with them."
"You haven't told us this!" Elrond outburst, the shock and fear in his eyes were completely genuine.
Legolas moved his eyes over to Elrond and gazed at him calmly, "It did not endanger the rings because the moment I connected with them the barrier they created around me was as solid as that which surrounds Rivendell and Lothlorien."
"That's not the point…" Elrond whispered pained.
"I've been keeping an eye on it," Legolas responded. "In the beginning Dol Guldur was slow to react when I dropped my barriers but gradually Sauron had become more observant of it. I've connected to the rings three times since we left the Halls. The first time his spirit barely left the Hill of Sorcery before I was already in the connection but last time he almost reached me. If I had not thrown out a barrier he would have been close enough to feel Glorfindel and Húron."
Gandalf puffed at his pipe and blew out some smoke before asking, "You could sense his approach?"
Legolas turned his gaze to the wizard and nodded, "I could feel the darkness closing in around me, and Glorfindel and Húron could as well. He was not attempting to hide his presence, he was just charging ahead with a speed that worries me."
"We have clearly established that Sauron sees you as a threat Laiqualassë," Galadriel said eerily. "You are the only one in Mirkwood, which he warned the elves he overtook specifically about. There is something personal between the two of you that will make it easy for you to draw him out when the time comes."
"Is that all that you care about?" Thranduil hissed from where he was standing.
"Ada…" Legolas said softly.
"No Legolas," Thranduil interrupted in an angry voice before turning to Galadriel once more, "Have you really locked your heart so far away that you no longer care for who you sacrifice in this journey to slay evil? I don't know if it has ever occurred to you that it is my son you're talking about? Or have you already forgotten what it is like to have a child?"
"Ada!"
Thranduil's mouth snapped closed, but the angry expression continued to disfigure his face. He moved his eyes over to his son and Legolas could see the fear and the pain that was at the bottom of his fury. Legolas' eyes softened when he realized the cause and he walked over to his father, at that moment he didn't care if there were others in the room so he pressed his forehead against his father's shoulder and leaned against him.
"It's the sea-longing," Legolas whispered so only his father could hear him. "Nenya controls the element of water, it induces sea-longing. She wants Sauron vanquished as swiftly as possible so she is free to sail to the West, to see her daughter once more. Pay no attention to her..."
"That still doesn't give her any right to…" Thranduil hissed lowly, glaring daggers at the Lady of Light.
Legolas suddenly chuckled softly. Confusion and bewilderment replaced Thranduil's anger and he gazed at his son with an eyebrow lifted. Legolas shook his head, still smiling, and whispered, "If you were a cat Ada your hackles would be raised and your teeth bared."
Thranduil stared at Legolas for a moment but then snorted and averted his gaze, leaning his body against the wall of the building once more. Legolas found it hard to erase the image of an angry and hissing blue-eyed cat but nonetheless his amusement slowly faded and he turned back to the three sitting by the table.
"What do you plan to do from now on," Gandalf asked seriously when he returned. The wizard had put out his pipe and was leaning forward with his hand joined on the surface of the table.
"I will not train with the connection for the rest of our journey," Legolas answered. "The next time it will be to fight against Sauron. I have given up on trying to make the connection just before entering Dol Guldur because at that time I will be closer to him than I will be to the rings. I will have to make the connection while I am with the three of you and then continue to bear it while I move towards Dol Guldur."
"Your body may not be able to handle the strain of keeping the connection for so long…" Elrond said pained, "You have to take into account that after you have been holding the connection for hours while travelling you will have to face him and that will not be an easy battle."
"I know but there is nothing else I can do," Legolas responded, acceptance and weariness. "The only other option would be for you to come with me towards Dol Guldur but an orc army stands in the way of that and it would be dangerous."
"Why not wait to attack until the orc army is destroyed?" Thranduil asked. "That way all of us can move closer to Dol Guldur."
Legolas looked back at his father, "We do not know the outcome of either of the battles we are about to face. Dol Guldur is emptying to supply an army to fight against us, what better chance would I get to fight him alone than when the orcs are busy with you? Besides," he turned around once more, his eyes losing their focus, "if I lose then it is a good thing there are not others around he could attack thereafter…"
For a minute there was silent in the building but then Legolas looked up and locked gaze with Galadriel, equal strength behind their gazes. "Nenya showed me a vision the last time I made the connection, did you see it as well?" He asked.
"Nenya shows many things," Galadriel said, her voice like flowing water and her eyes showing even more depth. "The visions that it chose to show you, though, were in my mind as well. It has shown glimpses of what is to come, armies of orcs fighting both under trees and on a plain, Esgaroth bathed in flames, and a dwarf screaming."
"Thorin…" Gandalf muttered with dread in his voice.
O
The year 2941 of the Third Age, July 16th
"Something is wrong with the Captain," Roben said as he fastened the rope of another snare on the forest floor of their flanks. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed how he occasionally stops and stares into thin air with an unreadable expression on his face. We all know that when he starts doing things like that then something is very wrong."
"Has 'e been doin' that many times?" Gruinor asked from where he was sitting and fixing explosives. His eyebrows were furrowed with worry and his eyes rose to lock with Roben's.
Roben blushed slightly, "I've been watching him when I had the chance. You never know with him…"
"I… I've seen it as well," Hiwon said tentatively from where he was hanging upside-down on a tree branch, fixing another trap. "He usually snaps out of it before anyone can question him and then busies himself with something."
"He's also been disappearing quite often during the day," Callon said from where he was digging a hole in the forest ground. "He's held a lot of meetings with Galadriel, Gandalf, Elrond, and the King, and the relationship between the King and the other rulers has been frosty ever since they arrived."
"Húron!" Gruinor barked, "Don't just stand 'ere silently! I know that you know what's goin' on! You've been gazin' at 'im worriedly at every chance you get! How 'bout you share a little with yer mates 'ere?"
Húron was silent for a long moment, concentrating on threading wines together to make a cover for the hole Callon was digging. After a while though, he sighed and stopped working. "I cannot tell you everything, but Faneth was pregnant when we escaped from Mirkwood… The journey to Rivendell was grueling because we were constantly running from elves and hurrying towards our destination. She lost the baby the moment we arrived…"
Roben moaned in sorrow and tears fell from Hiwon's large turquoise eyes and fell to the forest floor since he was still hanging. Gruinor cursed heartily and Callon rammed the shovel more forcefully into the dirt.
"It tore him up to leave her when it was clear that they were both still grieving and now he cannot reach her or even feel her because he is forced to lock his mind down," Húron said. He paused for a moment but then raised his eyes to the rest of the team. "I think he didn't tell you because he didn't want you to worry, but we should all be keeping an eye on him."
O
The year 2941 of the Third Age, July 17th
"So this is where you've been hiding yourself all evening."
Legolas stepped out of the woods and into the clearing, eyeing the space and the lone figure inside it with sadness. There were piles of overturned dirt in the form of graves in the clearing, almost fifteen from the bodies of those who had died from the original patrol as well as some wood elves. Not all bodies had been found but Legolas knew that Thand, Osbon, and Ecthel each had their own graves here, next to each other.
He closed his eyes in sadness and bowed his head, silently thanking as well as apologizing… After a while of paying his respects, however, he turned his attention to the other being in the clearing.
Taenor was standing completely still, but the anguish and the grief in his expression was almost too much to bear. Mirkwood's uniform hung from his thin shoulders and bagged a form they would previously have fit perfectly. There were thick shadows under Taenor's eyes and his complexion was pale.
"You worried Hiwon and Roben sick when you disappeared," Legolas said softly, moving closer to Taenor.
"They keep watching me as if I'm going to throw myself off the cliff…" Taenor responded. His voice was dull and lifeless as well as slightly hoarse from disuse.
"They are your friends," Legolas said. "They just want to help you. To them it probably seems like you're already trying to kill yourself with the way you've been refusing to eat and sleep." He finally reached Taenor and placed a hand on his shoulder. He didn't know if it was the tiny amount of added weight or just the emotional reaction to a comforting touch, but at that moment Taenor's legs folded underneath him and he was sent to the ground.
Legolas hurriedly sat by his side and wrapped his arms around him to support him. Taenor said nothing, he only leaned his weight against his commander as if he no longer had the strength to hold it himself. This was the first time Taenor had shown emotions when he was around so Legolas knew immediately that the young elf was at his limit.
He gently ran his hand in circles on Taenor's back and pressed a kiss against his hair. "You've run yourself into the ground," Legolas sighed. "Maer would be fretting if he could see you."
"You said his name…" Taenor whispered dully. "The others will not speak it in my presence… every time they do they look at me as if I'm going to break down right in front of them…"
"I will speak with them," Legolas said softly. "After all… it would be a shame not to honor your brother's memory." Taenor's body quivered at that and Legolas didn't even need to see his face to know that there were tears streaming down his cheeks. "Remember his courage… his joy… his strength …and his love."
A choked sob escaped from Taenor's lips and his trembling intensified. Legolas closed his arms more tightly around the elf when he moved further into his embrace and Legolas knew that he was finally allowing someone to support him instead of attempting to handle everything on his own.
"Why…" Taenor choked through sobs, "Why is it… that every time I think of him I cannot remember all of those things…? Why is it that every time I sleep I see his face in my dreams …pale and lifeless… and feel his blood running through my fingers…?"
Legolas closed his eyes at this and tightened his arms even more around Taenor. He struggled to find a response through his own struggling emotions. "…When Aewon died," Legolas whispered pained. "I saw it happen and for a long time afterwards I saw it happen again and again in my nightmares and every time someone spoke of him, or even if I just thought of him, that would be the first image that popped into my mind. I was so angry… so furious that I was allowing his death to overshadow all the happy times we had had together but no matter what I did I could not change it… I hated myself for that, for being so weak that I couldn't stop it."
Taenor's sobs had become quieter and Legolas knew that he had the trembling elf's full attention.
"I still see it sometimes… but it has gradually faded as time passed since his death." Legolas continued softly, "Given time you will be able to remember Maer as he was, Taenor. I know that now this seems like an empty consolation… Truly I have found that there is not much that can speed the passing of grief besides having friends and family to lean on."
Legolas gently placed his hands on either side of Taenor's face to raise his head. Cerulean blue eyes locked with tearful olive green. "I know that it has always primarily been you and Maer against the world… but now more than ever you need to let other people into your heart. Let me support you, let Hiwon and Roben help you… Trust us."
More tears fell from Taenor's eyes, "I already do…"
"Not entirely," Legolas whispered. "You did not trust me enough to come for my help when you were feeling like you were dying inside. You didn't trust Hiwon and Roben enough to trust their judgment when they were trying to make you sleep and eat."
"I couldn't…" Taenor ducked back into Legolas' embrace, trembling. "I couldn't see him again…"
"Did you tell them of your dreams?" Legolas asked gently. "If you are afraid to fall asleep then all you need to do is reach out to one of us and we will help you. Hiwon and Roben are already trying so hard to be there for you and support you, but they need your cooperation as well… You are no burden to us Taenor, promise me that you will try to trust us from now on."
He could feel Taenor nodding against his chest and ran his hand over his honey-blond hair in a silent praise. Afterwards he moved his arms under Taenor's form and gently lifted him into his arms as he stood up. They had already stayed in the clearing for too long…
"Captain-"
"You have just promised to trust me Taenor," Legolas interrupted softly as he began walking towards the point. "You've worn yourself out completely, rest for a while. I have you."
Most elves were asleep when they entered the point but those that were still working threw them curious glances as Legolas walked by, carrying the dozing Taenor. Throughout the walk Legolas had allowed his calm and relaxed aura to flow into Taenor and as a result the elf had already slept some during the walk.
Legolas moved through the point and over to where his team had set up camp. The moment he came into view, Hiwon and Roben sprung up from where they had been sitting anxiously. Gruinor and Callon were already sleeping after having used the whole day collapsing the tunnel that led onto the point. Húron was sitting with his back against a tree, he had been asleep but woke the moment Legolas entered the camp.
"Where-"
"Shh…" Legolas softly hushed Hiwon as he kneeled and placed Taenor on the bedroll that probably either Hiwon or Roben had laid out. Taenor mumbled something in his sleep and became unsettled as soon as he lost some of the contact with Legolas' calm aura.
"We'll talk in the morning," Legolas whispered to Hiwon and Roben before lying down beside Taenor, and taking his hand in his.
Húron watched from the other side of camp as Legolas slowly fell asleep as well and soon he was the only one still awake, which suited him just fine. He kept watch over the others, already having had enough sleep himself to keep going for another day.
"Have you kidnapped him?"
Húron just barely managed to keep himself from screaming out loud in shock as the voice sounded just beside his ear. He did, however, not manage to stop his body from jumping and his hand from going directly to the hilt of his sword.
"Alfirin!" Húron hissed angrily so quietly that it wouldn't wake the others and snapped his head around to look at the wood elf. "What in the name of the Valar are you doing here?"
Alfirin did not move from the spot where he was crouching behind Húron, his eyes locked on the sleeping figure of Legolas. "My charge didn't return this night so I've been getting ready to forcibly pull him from some type of work," Alfirin said in accented Sindarin. "If it's like this then I suppose it's all right, as long as he sleeps." Alfirin turned his gaze from Legolas to Húron and gave him a feral smile.
Húron rolled his eyes but in that second Alfirin had disappeared from his side without a word or a sound and nothing marked his passing.
"Wood elves…" Húron scoffed to himself and continued to sit watch.
O
The year 2941 of the Third Age, July 19th
"My King!"
Legolas stopped in the middle of talking tactics with Húron as the shout rang through the trees, coming from the point. The voice held so much panic that Legolas automatically began racing towards the point.
"Hold him!" Another shouted, "Restrain him so he can't hurt anyone!"
"I need help over here," A third grunted.
"Aranya!" A female voice cried out, "Limbë, pusta i-sercë!" [My King! Quick, stop the bleeding!]
At that moment Legolas burst into the point, his sharp eyes immediately took in the scene before him. His father was standing with his hand clasped over a stab wound in his arm, ignoring the elves that were attempting to help because he was looking at another scene. Several elves were wrestling to restrain one of the wood elves. Legolas looked at the elf and immediately found himself locked with a pair of coal black eyes.
As soon as the overtaken elf saw him, his target changed and he wrestled the elves in an attempt to get over to him. Legolas stayed locked in the elf's eyes for a few seconds and it seemed like all sounds faded as memories welled up inside him.
The wood elves that had arrived the night of his last training session… He had been too worn out to remember to touch them… to protect them from the darkness…
Legolas blinked repeatedly and then called out in sharp command, "Release him!"
The elves holding back the overtaken elf shifted their attention to him and in the brief moment where they were concentrated on something else. The overtaken elf managed to rip his way out of their grips and immediately he rushed towards him.
Legolas had forgotten that Húron was with him though, and the moment this happened his second-in-command jumped in front of him to make a shield between Legolas and the overtaken elf. Legolas had no time to say anything nicely so he settled for grabbing the back of Húron's tunic and flinging him to the side just in time for the overtaken elf to reach him.
The elf swung his fist at him but Legolas evaded to the left and grabbed his wrist before bending his arm behind his back. He then kicked the back of the elf's knees and forced him down in kneeling position with his arm locked behind his back. Without wasting any time he went down with him and in that instant he released the power inside him, as much power as he could possibly manage.
Instantaneously, a high-pitched scream sounded but unlike the first time he had attempted this, he ignored the sound even though it cut through him painfully and continued to pour his energy into the elf. Silvery-blue light filled the point as Legolas wrestled against the influence of Sauron. The elf in his grasp writhed and screamed as it flowed through him, the darkness inside him fighting to stay in control through the onslaught of light.
Finally, the last strings of darkness inside the elf snapped and the elf went limp inside his arms. Legolas stopped the flood of power and immediately the light that had filled the point fell to the ground once more. Legolas took a shuddering breath, a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his face, before he then lowered the wood elf gently to the ground.
"Cundu…" The elf breathed, his eyelids fluttering open to reveal bright green irises. [Prince…]
"Fúmë sin…" Legolas whispered softly, his breathing still heavy and his head pounding. [Sleep now.]
The wood elf's eyes dropped closed as he heeded his command, too exhausted to do anything else. Legolas let his eyes close for a moment as well but then he turned his gaze to Húron who was crouching where he had been thrown.
"I'm sorry Húron," Legolas said softly, nonetheless he was unable to stop his lips from curving slightly upwards in amusement.
"Málos!" A female voice cried at that moment and Legolas looked up from Húron to see one of the wood elves hurrying towards him, her eyes shining with worry. She immediately kneeled beside the sleeping elf and brushed her hand over his hair before kissing his forehead.
She then looked up at him, her eyes begging, "Hantalyë, Cundunya, hantalyë… áhé apsenë…" [Thank you, my Prince, thank you… forgive him…]
"Sívë…" Legolas said softly and placed his hand on her shoulder, transferring his protection to her. "Sanomië munta apsena." [Peace… There is nothing to forgive.]
She reached up and took his hand before kissing its surface, tears running down her cheeks. Afterwards, she once more turned his attention to the sleeping elf.
"Húron," Legolas said, looking over at his second-in-command, "I need everyone from their settlement to be brought to me, as well as the elves Alfirin brought here."
Húron bowed his head in acceptance before getting to his feet and beginning to call out orders. With that seen to, Legolas got to his feet as well and turned his attention to his father. The King was receiving treatment from the united force of Pengon and Elrond.
"Is he all right?" Legolas asked when he came up to them, his eyes locked on the deep wound in his father's upper arm.
"Aye Captain, my King will be fine," Pengon answered as he held the wound closed for Elrond to stitch.
"Are you all right?"
Legolas forced his eyes to lift from the wound in his father's arm and locked them with his father's sky blue ones. There was no pain to be seen in the king's eyes, only concern.
"Yes, I'm fine." Legolas answered truthfully. Sleeping and eating regularly as well as the fact that he hadn't had to train with the rings had boosted his strength up once more, thankfully. A slight headache was the only aftermath of the power usage.
O
The year 2941 of the Third Age, July 20th
Alfirin jerked awake as Legolas bolted upright, a strangled gasp escaping his lips. Immediately, Alfirin jumped up and knelt beside his ward, placing his hands on Legolas' arm and back to support him. Legolas continued to gasp for breath, his body shuddering, and Alfirin could feel the power raging inside his ward.
"Shh… Legolas. Súya…" Alfirin whispered soothingly, "Sívë…" [Shh, Legolas. Breathe… Peace…]
Legolas' head occasionally flinched from side to side, an expression of intense pain marring his features. The aura that usually surrounded the Prince had been sucked inwards and as a result the only thing that lit up the space under the low hanging braches was the faint light that Alfirin emitted, for the lantern had burned out.
"Mahtasa, Legolas…" Alfirin murmured, his yellow and green eyes shining with extreme worry. [Fight it, Legolas]
Never before had this happened to Legolas on his watch. It reminded him of the times Legolas had been attacked by shadowed trees and they had attempted to devour his energy, but it was not the same… What was going on?
Legolas let out a suffering groan and at that moment his trembling increased. Alfirin gave up on supporting him with the hands he had on his arm and his back and embraced him tightly instead, continuing to murmur to him without even knowing if his ward could hear it.
After a moment though Legolas' energy suddenly flared out and filled the space with such an incredible light that Alfirin was force to clench his eyes shut. It only lasted a second and then Legolas went limp in his grasp. Alfirin immediately opened his eyes once more and laid Legolas down on the ground before looking over him worriedly.
Legolas' body was still trembling and his breathing came in small jerks. Sweat had gathered on his forehead and even though his aura had returned, it was still a far cry from how it had been.
"Titta Lassë?" Alfirin questioned worriedly, not even noticing his use of the endearment in his concern, "Man-ië?" [Little leaf? What is it?]
"…The barrier…." Legolas breathed weakly, not even noticing that he was speaking Sindarin.
Alfirin felt frustration well up inside him. "What barrier?" He asked in desperation to understand what had just happened and whether or not there was something he should do.
At that moment though, Legolas' breathing evened out and his trembling stopped as he fell asleep. Alfirin barely stopped himself from calling his ward sharply and running around to vent off his frustration. Instead he made sure Legolas was comfortable before exiting the small hideout and jumping into the nearest tree, travelling from tree to tree and eventually running over the grass as well as climbing rope ladders until he came to the talan in which Thranduil was staying.
Húron was standing guard outside and his eyes immediately showed alarm when he saw Alfirin's panicked look. Therefore, he didn't stop the wood elf from entering Thranduil's room but went with him instead.
The King was already up, standing by the window with both hands gripping the frame. He turned when they entered the room. His eyes becoming fearful when he as well took in Alfirin's appearance.
"How is Legolas?" "What is the barrier?"
