Disclaimer: just like before, I'm not making a pound, farthing, peso, lira, yen, euro, loonie, franc or dollar on this little bit of fiction. All characters are from the mind of Tolkien, except for my own creations (thus far being Lin and Mike).
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Time and Space
Chapter 14
"Housekeeping," the voice called again.
I blinked a couple of times, finally registering the voice outside the door. I rose and opened it. "Not today. Not now." She nodded and pushed her cart to the next room. Closing the door slowly, I looked about the room. The bed remained unmade; a few clothes were tossed onto a chair. I slumped back down into the chair.
My journal lay on the table. I eyed it a long while, unsure if there was anything more I could add to it. I filled at least three pages already documenting the last day and a half. I felt spent, exhausted.
Eventually, I pulled it over and opened it. The words brought back vivid and painful images, images I knew I could never forget.
"Gimli is dead."
I could only watch as Aragorn sat next to his friend and delivered the most devastating news possible. The Elf's eyes widened, then just as quickly narrowed.
"No." He calmly turned to face Aragorn. "You are wrong. Gimli has not left us." His eyes became distant. "I would have felt it." The lack of emotion in his voice was terrifying to me. I would have been more comfortable with him shouting or fighting, but his composure was very disturbing.
"Laume, Legolas. Ta na anwa," Aragorn's gentle voice said. "You must believe me."
"No!" Legolas stood. "The son of Gloin is here. We've merely to find him." He looked to me. "Lin, I must ask your help once more."
I didn't know what to believe. Legolas had strange and unique senses beyond anyone I'd known or heard of. For him to say that he would have felt Gimli's death was beyond doubt. Yet, Aragorn had no reason to lie, nor to cause such anguish to his friend.
"Legolas..." I began.
In a moment, he whirled to face Aragorn once more. "This cannot be true. Elessar, you are deceived." The man only bowed his head. "No, Legolas. No."
"I will not believe it!" He made for the door, but just before he left, our eyes met. So much pain and confusion were there. I was reminded of my first meeting with him such a short and long time ago. He knew Aragorn was telling the truth, he just couldn't accept it.
Barely touching the ground, he strode out and went behind the motel to be in the trees once more. I made to go after him, but Aragorn held my arm. That he was next to me startled me. "Let him be."
"I'm not sure being alone is the best thing for him right now," I replied. "We need to stay together." The white lab coats still haunted me.
Aragorn released my arm. "He is an elf. And as such, he feels things much more deeply than you or I." He looked at me. "Time is all he has so we shall give it to him."
His words made sense, but I also knew that Legolas was in a dangerous and vulnerable position. There was still much in this world that he was ignorant of and that ignorance could have disastrous results.
I stepped back from the door. "How do you know about Gimli?"
The former king took a breath. "Arwen."
"In her visit to me, she told of what had happened to the Dwarf. Even as a silhouette her pain and sadness were evident.
'Elessar,' she began, 'even as a man, you cannot begin to understand the depths of cruelty of your race.'
I bade her to continue and relayed her story. She spoke of how she was able to find some semblance of form, albeit one of transluscence, after our encounter with Lausona. He had banished her from our realm of existence, pushing her back into the light of the stars that Elves were filled with. Somehow, I know not, she discovered what became of us. It was Gimli she found first. And it was Gimli that grieved her the most."
We now sat once again at the little table in the room.
"You see, Gimli was sent to a time far off from now. To when the dominance of men was supreme, but also the most blind. The truth was purposely kept hidden from the people to keep them from rebelling. Rulers desired power and kept the rest under heavy foot. Life became meaningless. Joy was difficult to attain. And anything beyond the norm was looked at with fear and hatred. To this world was Gimli cast."
He paused regaining himself. "So you can quite imagine their reaction of finding a dwarf suddenly in their midst. 'An abomination,' they cried. He was a monster. A demon sent to them from hell. Calls for his death were strong and widespread. There was little he could do."
"But dwarves exist in our time and back then, too. Why single him out?"
Aragorn laughed lightly. "Let me explain how the warrior appeared. Not as tall as you, but with a mass of hair covering his head and face. His long beard had grown to his belly and twisted into intricate braids. A proud creature, full of confidence and a temper to match. I love him dearly, almost as much so as Legolas."
Given this description, I could understand how a fearful and hostile people might react to finding this new person. Recalling Legolas' own confusion, I shuddered at how Gimli was received and how he would have reacted.
"He was taken and found to be a servant of the devil. His punishment was death by fire."
"Fire? He was burned at the stake." Absolutely the most torturous and painful way to die.
Aragorn nodded gravely. "But Arwen found him. She gave him comfort in his last moments. He would join his brothers beyond this life. He would be with those he loved in his mortal life. Had she not been with him, his suffering would have been a thousand times greater."
He stopped, gazing out the window. Even now after all this time, his love for Arwen remained. Even though they could not be together, his heart beat for her. He returned his gaze to me. "Could I have taken his place, I would most assuredly. He deserved no fate such as that."
"Neither do you or anyone," I answered. "And I don't think Legolas would even be able to handle knowing how his friend died. All that suffering might push him over the edge." If he wasn't there already.
At that moment, I felt a crying out, a scream without sound. My body shook with the pain in that scream. My breath was caught in my throat. After it subsided, I looked at the King. He, too, had felt it, his hand held over his heart, clenched tightly. Without saying anything, we rushed around to the back.
We ran to the small glen, but could not find Legolas easily. After five minutes of searching, I became worried. If he was no longer there, we could not protect him. Then Aragorn called out. "Kaitlin, here!" I quickly arrived and stopped. He looked to me. "It is worse than I feared," he whispered.
"I would agree."
Legolas sat at the base of a tree, his knees pulled to his chest, his arms limp at his sides. I took a step forward and knelt down, placing myself directly in Legolas' field of vision and called out. But he did not respond. In fact, he didn't blink or do anything that would acknowledge my presence. I shut my eyes. God, he's reverted within himself, I thought. I then looked to Aragorn. "This isn't good."
"No."
I looked all around his head and upper body for some sort of injury or trauma, but found nothing. I rose. "With regular people this sort of thing can last days, weeks, even months. Their minds can't handle the new information. But with Elves...I don't even know where to begin."
Aragorn continued to monitor the Elf. "We must do anything we can. I will not stand idly by and watch him slowly die of grief." He bent down, touching Legolas' shoulder. "Mourn, my friend, but do not grieve deeply. I fear I may lose you as well and that would be beyond my limit. Please, stay with us." He bowed his head for a moment then straightened. "I will stay with him."
"What can I do?"
"Give him your thoughts. There is little else we can do."
I closed the journal and slid it back across the table. That had been this morning, nearly ten hours ago. Tired of waiting around, I headed out back, finding the same scenario as when I left. Legolas was still locked away, while Aragorn maintained his vigil.
"No change?"
He shook his head. "None. I spoke of my experiences here or remembered adventures we had together. I even attempted a song of the Noldor, but nothing." He stared at his friend. "I fear he is too far gone." The quiet of his voice chilled me.
Walking over, I saw the warm glow of the sunset behind Legolas, framing him in gold. In conjunction with the vacant look in his eyes he, looked more like a statue than anything living. "I'll stay with him, Aragorn. You should get some rest and some food."
"Nay," he shook his head. "I do not wish to leave him."
"You'll be no good to him if you're passing out from fatigue." I sat next to Legolas. Perhaps it was the determined look in my eye that held Aragorn's tongue from further argument, or the gnawing in his stomach.
"I shall return as quickly as I can." He paused then turned and left.
For a long while, I just sat there watching the world become darker. The sounds of the forest changed becoming quieter. Turning, I checked to see if Legolas had changed. His eyes remained lost, staring blankly at nothing in front of him. Carefully, I felt for any sign of life and cringed when I touched cold skin. I drew myself closer to him hoping to warm him, if only a little. I held his hand.
The last rays of light disappeared when I spoke. "You know, Legolas," I whispered, "you have friends in the here and now who value you. What would happen to us if you left?"
No response.
I rested my hand on top of our intertwined ones. "I don't know much about you or Aragorn or...Gimli...but I do know that you are here. We have met eachother and I'd like to think it was for a reason. And not just to help you psychologically." Though I doubt I've been much good at that lately. "There's something here, Legolas, between you and me. Between all of us. Somehow, we are all connected."
I flashed to Arwen's visit. What had brought her to me?
"Please, Legolas, don't bring me into your world and then leave me. Come back."
The world continued to darken.
A short while later, I heard footsteps from the side. The sun was set and the woods suddenly took on a eerie feel. "Aragorn?" When no reply came, I called again.
"You are worried about him, aren't you?" a voice called.
I turned to see a form walk towards us. I instinctively stood and put myself between him and Legolas.
"You're devotion is admirable, if misplaced."
Something about the voice was familiar. No, not just the voice. That little warning bell I'd felt at the airport was now a full-fledged alarm. This man was dangerous, extremely dangerous. "Who are you?"
"Come now, Lin. I would have thought that you would remember me. It hasn't been that long, has it?"
My eyes widened in wonder when I could finally see him. "How did you know where we were?"
He only laughed.
It was quickly interrupted. "Come to finish your task?" Aragorn called.
The man spun and was face to face with Aragorn. "Ah! So the leader has returned to lead his merry men. Oh, wait. You've no men, only a woman, a catatonic elf and a spirit." He chuckled. "Such has always been the way with you, Aragorn. A leader of misfits and rejects."
"Would someone tell me what is going on?" I jumped in.
"Certainly." A flash of light knocked me to the ground. The pain that followed gave me all the answers I needed.
To be continued...
A/N: my version of Elvish is probably wrong in the grammar and syntax departments, but I figured it was time to throw some in. I'd be curious to know if anyone can translate it. The prize? Uh...well...um...big kudos...? I'm also glad that fanfic is back up and running. I miss all the stories. Course, it being down was a good excuse for me not updating more quickly. Hopefully I'll have more time during the summer.