A/N:
Hello all,
Hiatus ended. I have the writing bug.
Love and loyally,
Kai
Chapter 44
Valediction
The elves shout back and forth as they paddle helplessly against the quickening current. As they round the bend in the river Alexandra's eyes widen in absolute fear. Ahead of them the edge of the river meets the sky and plummets below to certain death. Large boulders block off routes to shore. Large enough to use… Without another thought, the elleth dives into the back of the canoe and tears through the bags. Legolas frantically looks behind. "What are you doing!" he shouts, "sit down and hold on!" Finally, she finds what she's looking for.
Alexandra whips out long coils of rope and shouts to Naranmil's boat, "Get the ropes!" Legolas catches on shouts ahead to Thranduil's boat to do the same. As a gigantic boulder approaches between the boats, Alexandra calls to Arandur who stands and steadies himself. She winds back and tosses her coil of rope into his waiting arms. Legolas throws down his paddle and grabs Alexandra's waist as the slack tightens around the boulder and pitches her forward. Both teams secure the ends of the rope to their benches, making the boats stop and meet each other downstream of the rock.
Ahead of them, Thranduil and Thalion work to paddle against the current as they near the edge of the waterfall. Legolas pitches a long rope at his father's boat, but falls short, the distance between the elves and their king too great. She watches in horror as they near the edge. Realization dawns on the elleth as she grabs a rope and ties it around her waist. "Naranmil!" she cries. He catches on immediately and fastens the opposite end to the rock. Legolas whips around but is too late. She dives into the ice-cold torrent just before he can grab her. Somehow, over the roar of the river she hears him scream at Naranmil, "What are you doing!"
She lets the river take her, but it does not carry her not fast enough. She watches as Thranduil fights desperately against the current. She can see the realization in his eyes as they near the edge. As she struggles to keep her head above the water she tries desperately to focus on the boat ahead of her. She reaches out and begins to feel warmth in her fingertips. Do not be afraid… you can save them… The whispers return. The warmth grows and soon she can feel herself imagining grasping the edge of Thranduil's boat. As she bobs downstream the warmth grows and she holds the boat against the current. So close…. She was so close now.
Finally, she smacks into its wooden sides and is roughly grabbed under her arms and thrown inside. Alexandra gasps for air as Thranduil removes the line from her waist and fastens it to the stern of the boat. Thalion immediately begins pulling, but the current is too strong to pull them back upstream. Behind them, the thunder of the waterfall makes their shouts and commands fall on deaf ears. Never before had she seen the age-old ruler in such panic as he uses his entire strength to pull them from the edge. In the distance, Legolas leads the others in an attempt to tow them back to the rocks. Alexandra pushes her way to the front of the small boat. Before letting the warmth return, she hesitates. If she continues, there would be no going back. There would be no more hiding. Thranduil's suspicions would be proven true. She looks once more to Legolas, his eyes panicked and for the first time that she had seen, frightened. She may lose everything, but if that is what she had to do, she would.
Alexandra closes her eyes and lets the tingling in her fingers return. She outstretches her arms towards the current before the boat and pushes it away. The sheer force of the collision knocks her backwards and into Thalion. She quickly regains her footing and lets the whispers grow. Louder and louder they grow until she could no longer hear Thranduil's commands. She could no longer hear the roar of the river. She could no longer hear the crash of the waterfall. Never before had she allowed the power to gain such control. She slowly opens her eyes and pushes the current away with everything she has. As if in a trance, she utters three words, "Pull the rope."
Black begins to seep into the corners of her sight. The closer they grew to the rocks, the more she lost herself in the growing darkness. Finally, they reach the waiting arms of the others. But for her, it is too late. The last thing she sees are Legolas's blue eyes widened in shock.
Such power…
Such strength…
Use it!
The strongest of all…
Thranduil lifts the frozen girl into his son's ready arms. "Her eyes… her eyes are black!" he utters in disbelief. Before he could say another word, Naranmil latches on to the prince's shoulders and throws him aside, "Give her to me!".
"What is this?!" Thranduil shouts. He ignores the ruler's demands and sits with Alexandra in his arms. He begins whispering in a foreign language into the ear of the entranced girl. Her eyes remain open and black as night as he continues to speak to her. Legolas launches himself forward to help but Arandur catches him by the arm. The girl slowly lifts a hand and a wind picks up, making the ends of their hair whip in its might. "NO!" Naranmil yells, "Regain yourself! Regain control! Do not let the fear rule!" The others step back and shield their eyes as Naranmil shakes the entranced elleth, though to no avail. "Legolas!" he shouts.
Arandur releases the arm of his superior as the archer sprints forward. "Hold her down!" Legolas obeys and grasps the girl's shoulders while Naranmil places his hand over her forward. With a final chant the wind ceases and Alexandra shoots up, gasping for air. The darkness recedes, revealing her mismatched eyes. Though as soon as she is up, she crumples back into the arms of Naranmil, shaking and convulsing so hard she cannot speak. "Water, get her water and a blanket!" The trio watch with blank stares before Thalion hands him his water sack. Naranmil forces her to drink and then wraps her in their heaviest wool blanket.
Legolas takes the opportunity and rips Naranmil to the ground. He draws his knife and holds it to the elf's neck. "What did you do to her!" he cries, his eyes dangerously filled with rage. "I saved her life," he spits back, "you should be thanking me!" Thranduil approaches and points to the girl still quaking on the ground, "That child is dark. You knew this, didn't you?" Naranmil attempts to stand but is stopped again by Legolas, "That CHILD just risked her life to save yours. And there she lies in incredible pain because of it!"
"What is wrong with her? What did you do to her to make her this way!" Legolas shouts again, losing his patience. "I DID NOTHING!" he screams back. "You knew she was of old blood. You knew of whom she belongs!" Thranduil steps on the elf's chest, "That is not the strength given to her line by the Valar. That was something else. I have seen this before, but not by any of our kind… What are you!" Naranmil glares at the elvenking, "I have been her watcher. I have been helping her keep her powers under control," he switches to Legolas, "perhaps had you been more watchful of her you would have realized this is not the first time its happened! You love her don't you? Isn't that your duty?" Legolas winds back to strike, but is stopped by Thranduil. "Kill him," the prince hisses. "Why don't you stop worrying about me and care for the girl. She fought hard to break that trance; she is surely in great pain. A pain that you know nothing of!"
Legolas's eyes narrow, "And what of this pain do you know!" He is cut short by the aggrieved moaning of Alexandra who remains writhing on the ground. Legolas holds her in his arms attempting to comfort her. "I see nothing in this child but betrayal. Our kind does not possess such darkness. She has been masquerading in the light… I would suspect this has all been a ploy…" Thranduil utters darkly and looks deeply into his son's eyes, "Ion-nin…. Do not stoop so low as to let appearances make a fool of you… She has been using your heart as her instrument. Even now, you hurt as she hurts. She has woven herself so deeply into the threads of your being that you cannot see reality for what it is. That power… it is not Valar given. You know this."
Legolas peers down at Alexandra who clutches his tunic and buries her face in his arm as she fights the pain, brokenly murmuring his name. His features suddenly become cold. The warmth of her body becomes foreign in his arms. He tries to picture her beautifully mismatched eyes, the eyes that he allowed to see his heart and soul. Had he truly been this blind? His father was right; elves of the light are not capable of such darkness. None but those in alliance with Morgoth could conjure such evil.
Legolas rises with the girl in his arms. He slowly hands her over to Naranmil. Thalion and Arandur look on in confusion. "Take her and be gone," he says flatly. "My Lord!" both gasp, "this is insanity!" Legolas's hand shoots up sternly, "she is not who she says she is." Arandur approaches him, "you have not given her a fair chance! Do not make such rash decisions based on a theory! Alexan-"
"SILENCE!" the prince shouts; startling the others, "you will not speak her name to me. She will be forgotten. I will pay for my blindness, I need not more reminder of what was."
"Legolas?" a voice softly calls. Alexandra's foggy gaze rests on his stony expression. No words are exchanged, but his eyes say all that she needs to know. "No…" she murmurs as she lowers herself from Naranmil's hold. Thranduil commands the others to make for the shore. Legolas's gaze glazes over as she reaches out to him. "I trusted you. I gave you all." She shakes her head and steps forward but quickly falls to her feet, still unable to walk. For the briefest moment, she caught him leaning forward to help her, but instead he turns away. "Wait-" she pleads, tears welling in her eyes.
He pauses, "For motives I cannot foresee, you saved my father's life. For that reason alone, I am allowing you two to part ways with us unpunished." Her head begins to spin as his words cut her to the core. Chills run up her arms from the ice in his tone. "Legolas, don't do this…" He whips around and crouches to her level, "ENOUGH…" he shuts his eyes, attempting to remain steadfast in his decision, "Please… for my sanity." She sits there shaking, tears streaming down her face, "I would give you words of reassurance and truth if you would take them, but you won't… will you?" A glimmer of sadness betrays his eyes, as he shakes his head. "I see… then I will continue on this journey alone. I will do what I set out to do, whether you have faith in my word or not. Find comfort in the fact that we will not meet again… I have felt the conclusion of this tale long ago," she cautiously reaches out and rests her hands on the sides of his face, his blue eyes staring deeply into hers, "but I will remember how your eyes calmed me. I will remember your strength when I find I have none. I will remember your warmth in my final hour. Even though you will not be there by my side, I will remember you as such." His expression nearly breaks as she leans forward and whispers so lowly into her ear that no other could hear before tearfully placing a final kiss upon his lips. "Go," she whispers. Without a moment wasted he jumps to his feet and rejoins his comrades, but casts her one final glance. Their eyes meet and for the briefest moment she could swear he would come back to her, but he doesn't.
Knowing her strength has yet to return, Naranmil gathers her once more in his arms as the others finish forlornly gathering their belongings from the boats. "Don't let me see," she whimpers lowly for Naranmil to hear. He immediately turns his back to the others as she buries her tear-stricken face in his torso, listening as their light footsteps recede onto the shore until they are no more.
"What now?" she whispers.
Naranmil tightens his grip; "I will be by your side… until the very end."
A/N: Please review!
