by Blanton Cirith~
Chapter 10
Disclaimer: See chapter 1
Credits: Thanks to Maesharif1 for asking where Winters got her name, and thanks to CoolMistaria1 for reminding me that i hadn't answered it yet. :) Your question is answered in this chapter, so don't worry.
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Aragorn and Legolas still stood facing each other. Legolas' glance shifted toward the table where Gimli was seated, and then looked back at Aragorn. Legolas took a step closer.
"Hello Aragorn," he said in a dull tone, still staring at him intently with an expressionless face. "Both of you said I would not return."
"It had seemed unlikely," Aragorn answered quietly.
"And yet here I stand," Legolas retorted.
"Indeed."
There was a pause, and then Legolas sprung forward and embraced his companion.
"Aragorn! It gives me great joy to see you again!" Legolas cried.
"I as well!" Aragorn said, embracing him. Gimli had stood and ran over to Legolas at this point, and joined in the merriment. Aragorn turned to Theoden. "My King, this is a dear friend of mine, Legolas."
Aragorn led Legolas to the table and showed him a seat by him.
"Any friend of Aragorn and Gandalf's is one of mine," Theoden said with a smile.
Legolas was ready to sit down when he noticed Theoden had mentioned the wizard's name, and looked up to see Gandalf seated by Theoden smirking at him. Legolas missed his chair, and fell to the ground with a crash. Standing up again, he took his place beside Aragorn at the table, and couldn't take his eye off Gandalf.
"Gandalf? Is it really you" Legolas said with a burst of excitement.
"If there were any other Gandalf, I would be worried," the wizard answered, still grinning.
"But....how..." Legolas couldn't finish the thought. He was too stunned to speak.
"All will be explained in due time," Gandalf said.
"Where is Halbarad?" Aragorn asked.
"He said he could not stay, and had to return to the North. He said the Rangers needed his presence."
Aragorn nodded, and looked nervously at him as he asked the next question. "Legolas, did you find Winters? Is she alive?"
"Do not worry," Legolas answered. "She is being cared for in the House of Healings."
Aragorn and Gimli let out the breath they were holding, and smiled at the good news.
"What of the hobbits? Were they found?" Legolas asked, worried.
"Gandalf informs us they are safe," Gimli replied.
"That is a relief," Legolas said joyfully.
The rest of the evening Legolas spent with Aragorn and Gimli, and later, Legolas went to Gimli's chambers to spend some solitary time with him. It had occurred to Legolas that when he had been in pursuit of Winters, one of the things he missed most was spending time with Gimli.
"Legolas?" Gimli said, and by the sound of his voice Legolas could tell something troubled him.
"Hmm?"
"At Amon Hen-"
"Oh, let us not worry ourselves with that grievous and detestable day. I am sure we would all love to forget as much as possible about that day," Legolas said.
"Yes, but I must say what is on my mind, or else I will forever regret it. I will look into my soul and this will be staring back at me."
Legolas nodded, and said "Very well. What is troubling you, Gimli?"
Gimli sighed, and shifted his feet. Gimli was standing by the window looking out, and Legolas was sitting on the bed with one knee bent; his elbow resting on it.
"About Amon Hen," Gimli began. "I just want you to know that every angry thing I said, I kick myself for when ever remember. I bear a terrible sense of rue for everything I did and said to you, and I wish...I wish there were some way I could just take it all back. As one takes a seed from the ground, I wish I could take everything I have said from your memory. Oh, if only it were that easy. Is there any way I could earn your friendship again?"
"You never lost it in the first place," Legolas replied with a loving smile.
Gimli grinned and embraced him. "Now that I have that off my conscience, I feel so much more prone to merry making."
Legolas yawned. "Maybe so, but not tonight. You must rest, and so will I...once I pay a visit to the House of Healings."
"How was she the last time you checked on her?" Gimli inquired.
"Not in any danger of dying, thank the Valor; but still in need of recovery. Goodnight to you, my friend. I shall see you at breakfast tomorrow, then?"
"The only way I would miss it is if the entire Dark Army itself attacked my chambers. And only then, they would have to strike rather hard; for Gimli the dwarf is not easily toyed with when he is hungry."
Legolas laughed, and made his way to the door. "Very well. Goodnight."
With that, he left and started down the hall. He couldn't help but notice how grim and dark everything seemed. It wasn't his surroundings. The walls were beautifully decorated, and there was a long rug that extended the length of each hall. It was more of an ill foreboding that hung over the castle, like something was soon to happen; something terrible, and there would be much suffering. A strong sense of dread filled his mind, but he tried to push it aside when he finally came to the door to the House of Healing. He came to a guard standing by the entrance, and spoke to him.
"Excuse me, Sir. Where is the elf that was brought here earlier today?" Legolas inquired.
"Three doors down to the left," the guard replied.
Ignoring the guard's strange look as he pondered what the elf was doing here so late, Legolas made his way to Winters' room. Turning the door handle, he sighed. Why was he nervous? She was recovering and would be fine, but those few days of not knowing where she was or if she was still alive or hurt had scarred his mind forever. He had regretted ever leaving with Gimli to search for Frodo back at the High Seat.
He opened the door, and there was Winters. She was laying in the room's bed, but was not asleep. It seemed as if something was troubling her as well.
"Winters?" he said, walking toward her bedside.
She sat up and smiled.
"Hello. I'm glad you came. I was beginning to feel shut away."
"Yes, recovery can be a lonely and dreadful thing if you are confined to the House of Healings. I doubted you would mind a visit, so I came to see how you were doing."
"I would be better if these dreary walls weren't staring back at me all the time," she replied, and glanced toward the window.
Legolas caught her hint, and opened the window.
"There's a guard outside the hall, so we will have to sneak out through here," he said, motioning for her to follow him as he crept out of the window.
She grinned, and followed him.
"Well I am relieved he came back at all; and she as well," Aragorn said to Gandalf.
"It was a suicide for him to attempt it at all. Had it not been for your sending Halbarad, I doubt they would be here right now," Gandalf exclaimed.
"Probably not, but the fact is they are here now; alive. We shouldn't linger on the past and what could have happened. Rather, we should think about what to do now. The Ring is no doubt out of our reach now, am I right?"
"Quite right," Gandalf said. "But whatever we do, she cannot accompany us. Our journey was never for a woman in the first place. I don't know what Galadriel and Celeborn were thinking, sending a woman on the quest."
"Yes, we can not allow her to come with us. But the question is: should Legolas follow with us either?"
"What do you mean?" Gandalf inquired. "He is a skilled fighter. We will need him."
"Yes, his skills would be of great value, but they are in love. It would break him if they were to be separated," Aragorn stated.
"This is madness. We can not allow emotions to cloud our vision of what must be done," Gandalf explained.
Aragorn sprung forward, a great hurt shown through his eyes all of a sudden. "I know what it is to leave the one you love behind, not knowing if you would return for her. I understand how it feels, and I would not wish that amount of pain on anyone; not even the Dark Lord himself. Legolas is my friend. I wish not for him to suffer the same as I."
Gandalf lowered his eyes, and was in deep thought. He was pondering on the words of Aragorn, and on what they must do for what is to come.
"How did you get your name, Winters?" Legolas asked as they slowly walked along the bank of a small river that ran near the castle.
"Every morning in which snow fell, my mother would sit by the young orange blossom tree, which stood near her window," she said, holding his hand as they walked. "A few mornings after my birth, gentle flakes of snow began to fall slowly toward the ground, like withered leaves fall from an oak. A small snowflake fell on my nose, and my mother tells me that before it melted, it glistened there for a moment, and she knew from that moment that she would always love the winter season most of all."
Legolas saw an orange blossom tree a few meters away, and released her hand to go to it. She followed him, and watched him pick a blossom. He put it in her hair, and stepped back to see.
"Perfect," he said. She noticed he was near the edge of the bank, and saw the calm river behind him. She grinned, and pushed him in.
With a yelp he fell backwards and disappeared under the water. A few moments later he came to the surface, splashing about. Winters stood on the bank with her hand over her mouth, giggling. Legolas took his hand, and splashed some water at her, and she backed away laughing.
"I would pull you in as revenge, but you're injured," Legolas said.
"Allow me," she said with a smile, and jumped in.
She resurfaced again, her hair dripping in her face. They were both giggling, but suddenly Legolas remembered the day at the Great River when he had nearly drowned, and Winters as well. The memory had come back to him in a rush, and he looked around, feeling nervous in the water.
"What is the matter?" Winters asked, looking worried.
Legolas still frantically looked around at the surface of the water, and the feelings he had experienced before were coming back to him, even though he was above the surface. He forced his eyes closed, trying to push out the memory, but it only grew stronger. It seemed so real, he could feel the water surrounding him, and his lungs burning and screaming for air.
"Legolas!" she cried, shaking him. He came back to reality, and saw her in front of him.
"It's all right. I just had a flashback; that's all," he said, and forced a smile on his face.
"Are you sure?" she said. "I was terribly worried!"
"Yes, everything is fine," he said, looking into her eyes. He kissed her gently under the moonlight, and soon he had forgotten about the near-drowning at the Anduin.
There were voices coming from beyond the trees, and they were coming towards them. They didn't sound like that of orcs, however. Quickly getting out of the water, the two Elves saw about five men of Rohan coming towards them. The guards stopped in front of them.
"Are you unharmed, M'lady?" the leader asked, staring coldly at Legolas.
"The Lady Winters has been under my protection, Sir," Legolas said to him in a low tone.
"We shall see. What are you doing out here this late?"
Ignoring the guard's question, Legolas spoke to the others. "It is late, as this man has so nicely pointed out to me, and so we shall be going now."
A younger guard stepped forward. "We are sorry for intruding, but we were sent to look for you."
"And you shall, no doubt, be rewarded for such mindless obedience," Winters said with a frown.
"We were just worried for your safety, M'lady," the leader said.
"It has been noted. Good day," Legolas said harshly.
Legolas and Winters walked away from them, and started toward the House of Healings. When the Men of Rohan were out of view, they broke out laughing.
"We are a childish lot," Winters said through the laughter.
"Very much so, but that was extremely fun. Can you not say otherwise?" Legolas said with a smile.
"No I cannot," she said, smiling back.
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Our dynamic duo here had a little TOO much fun ticking off those guards of Rohan. :D
Chapter 11 should be coming soon enough; have no fear. But it won't be coming immediately, though. I have a bunch of things to do.