Tears In Heaven
Chapter Eight: Enter Sandman
(author: jennzah)
Boromir had just put Rhia down to sleep, in a room that Elrond had graciously provided. He stroked his daughter's hair, and thought of Reighn, back at home, fighting the shadows. He closed his eyes when the thought of how Legolas had spoken to him rang into his brain, how he had seen the contempt on his features. He was just trying to protect Jairah, Boromir reasoned. Had their roles been reversed, he probably would have reacted the same way, his only thoughts to protect Reighn.
He sighed, and rose from the child's bed and went out, closing the door quietly behind him, then he walked towards the council area once more. Jairah and Legolas sat there, talking softly in rapid Elvish, and Boromir could not understand what they said. He meant to walk past them, and just give them a smile, but Gandalf stopped him in his tracks, and pulled him off to the side.
The wizard did not look happy. He leaned on his staff, and when they had gone around the corner from the council area, he looked at Boromir strongly.
"You have gotten your wish. The Lady Jairah will go to your time, and help you fight off the Shadows." Gandalf stared at Boromir, waiting for a reaction.
Boromir did not believe his ears. "if this is a trick, sir wizard, it is not a funny one!" He went to move past Gandalf but then looked in his eyes, Gandalf was not lying.
Gandalf shook his head sadly. "She will go, despite my pleadings for her not to. There is more at stake here than you know, Boromir. She and Legolas will travel with you to your time, and will help in the battle. I will also go, to protect her."
Boromir gave him an odd look. "Why would she need to be protected, if Legolas is going? Surely he is enough to protect her..."
Gandalf sighed. "The magick in her blood is very strong. She needs to be protected from it, and from the Shadows. Legolas cannot do that alone, for he knows not what she wields. I will go. There is no argument here, Boromir."
Boromir reasoned with himself. He did not want to let Gandalf back through to his time, but he had to admit to himself that if Gandalf wanted to go to protect Jairah, he would find some way. He was very powerful.
"Right then," Boromir said. "We will leave in 2 days. Teach Jairah all you can about the power in her blood, for the Shadows will surely feel the presence of them as soon as we arrive. She will need to be on her guard, both of them will."
With that, Boromir walked past Gandalf and into the woods, relishing the greenery that he'd missed for so long.
**
Gandalf watched him go, and he sighed. He looked at the elves, who were sitting silently together now, probably speaking to one another in their minds.
Gandalf remembered the day the two elves had been married, how happy they had been. now they both had battle on their minds again, adventure. He wished he could go back and erase all that had happened to them in such a short time.
He remembered two other such elves who had been happy together at one time, Sandros and his wife, Aduariel. When Jairah had claimed that her mother had had no heart, she had been wrong. But Gandalf had lead her to believe that.
Aduariel, before she had succumed to the powers inside of her, had once been a very heartful person. Sandros and she shared a love that had been timeless, before the power had taken her and she lost all ability to feel, except for that of envy, and power. Sadly that had been almost directly after Jairah had been born. Aduariel did not cherish in the new life she'd brought into the world, in fact she disdained it. It was the power telling her that she had passed it on, that it was no longer hers alone.
Gandalf had been friends with Sandros, for many years. Jairah did not know this. The heartache that Sandros suffered after Aduariel had left him had been great, and would had been the end of him, had it not been for his daughter, who brought him much joy. But Sandros carried the grief of the loss of his love untill the day he died. It had weakened him.
Which is why Gandalf feared for Jairah. Sandros had not been able to protect Aduariel from herself, and his love for her did not save her. Instead, his love for her would be his end, fighting for the life of their daughter. Gandalf feared that Legolas' love for Jairah would not save her from what could be her fate. He knew he must speak to him, tell him of what the past fortold of the future. Legolas, he knew, would fight to keep Jairah from succumbing to the power.
So now he called to the elf, who reluctantly left his wife's side, and walked over to Gandalf. "What is it, Gandalf?" he asked, his blue eyes searching the wizard.
"I must speak with you," Gandalf said, motioning for him to follow. Legolas looked back longingly at Jairah, who had her eyes closed and appeared in deep thought, then followed Gandalf.
They settled in an area, not far from the hall of healing. Legolas winced at those doors. The last time he'd seen them, he'd been waiting for Jairah to come out, for she'd been scarred by the Dark Lord.
"Now, Gandalf," he said, looking at the Wizard as he sat. "What is it?"
Gandalf drew in his breath, and began to speak. "It is about this journey, which you and Jairah are about to embark on, more specifically, it is about Jairah herself. About the power in her blood."
Legolas looked thoughtful. "Yes. I have been wondering about it, it worries me. Something in her has changed, in this little time since we have spoken about going to Reighn's time."
Gandalf closed his eyes for a moment. "She is becoming aware of the power. She has determination, which altogether might not be such a good thing. Determination was what got Aduariel killed, her own selfish determination."
"But if the story is true, Aduariel's determination was that to take over Lothlorien and the elves," Legolas said. "Jairah wants to help save Reighn's people."
"You are right. Jairah has more heart than Aduariel did. But Legolas, this you may not know. Once, Aduariel was just like Jairah, full of love, life, and heart. It was only after the power corrupted her that she became ruthless. We must stop that from happening to Jairah. And that task will have to be carried out by you, for you are the one being who loves her above everything else. Sandros could not save Aduariel. But he was not wise to the power, he did not know. You do, you possess some of it. You must watch her, carefully, Legolas. You must make sure that the love you feel for her, the love you two share, overpowers that power inside of her."
Legolas nodded, though he was a bit conflicted. "She knows i love her, just as i know she loves me." he said. "She is my life."
"Yes," said Gandalf. "Love will be our only defense against the power. Your love is very old, very strong. You were children together. I am hoping that all of this will help. Sandros and Aduariel did not have a love as strong as yours, for it was broken way too easily.. " Gandalf said these words to himself as much as to Legolas, coming to realizations. "Yes," he said. "I believe you can stop the power from taking Jairah."
Legolas, though he did not want to ask the question, sprouted it anyway. "Gandalf.." he said, his eyes turning a bit darker, "What would happen if i could not stop the power from taking her?"
Gandalf smiled sadly at him. "When the power took Aduariel, she left Sandros for the Brown Lands. She left no word, no reason. She just left, and began her plot to try to overcome Galadriel. Sandros was left with his baby daughter, and a broken heart, for he loved Aduariel, just as you love Jairah. It became the end of him, eventually, though it was an Orc blade that slew him, that battle for his daughter's life. But part of his will to live was gone, after Aduariel left him. Love is quite powerful, Legolas, as im sure you know."
"You didn't answer my question, Gandalf," Legolas said. "What would happen to Jairah?"
"If you could not stop this, Jairah would become cruel. She would forget that she ever loved you, and she would become something terrible, like Aduariel, power-hungry and ruthless. She could command any living being she chose, and she would kill, just like Aduariel did. She would not be the gentle creature you once knew. She would become dark. And with the powers inside of her, which i believe to be double what her mother possessed, she could become dangerous. And we would have to end her existance, for we could not allow such a being to come back into existance."
Legolas had his eyes closed, from the moment Gandalf had mentioned killing Jairah, if the power took her. "I could not bear that," he said. "I could not. I will not let the power take her, i will not."
Gandalf smiled again. "I know you won't." he said. "You love her greatly. It should be enough. You must remind her though, remind her of your love constantly. When we get to Reighns time, it will be harder to do so, she will be made to fight. But when we return here, you must do all you can to banish the power from her, go back to your lives in Mirkwood, your happiness. Love and happiness will stop this.."
Legolas nodded, and rose from his place and quickly went back to where Jairah sat, now speaking to Pippin and Sam, a small smile on her face when she saw her approaching lover. He walked swiftly, swiftly to her, and swept her up in his arms, kissing her as he did. She laughed, something that she had not done since before they had learnt about their child dying.
"Legolas!" she giggled, sounding like she did when they first had fallen in love. "What has gotten into you?" she smiled as he kissed her cheek again and looked at the hobbits, who had amusement playing in their eyes.
"You must excuse me, young hobbits," he said. "I need a word with my wife.." And with that he carried Jairah to their room, and closed the door.
***
Elrond's spell had worked. Jairah had just spent the happiest two days that she could remember in a long time. She and Legolas had frolicked around Rivendell, and hidden themselves away in their room. She felt loved, filled. The days had been filled with laughs, kisses, skin, eyes, and love.
Now, as she laid sleeping, intertwined with her lover, one of her hands laced in his, and the other softly stroking one of his bare arms, she began to dream.
She saw Reighn, who was pacing the floor of her home, in her time. She was calling out for Boromir, she was worried. She knew that he was in Middle-Earth, but she wanted him back, she wanted him home. The shadows were becoming stronger, and the Celts had fled away from them, and they were all hiding right now.
She heard Reighn call out her name. "Jairah!" she called. "Hear me. I need your help, please. I need you to help save my people. They are dying. Please, come to us, come help us..."
She was cut off when the windows of her home exploded, and a huge shadow thing burst in, and started hissing at her, and she prepared to attack it.
Jairah heard Reighn's screams, as she fought it off, and then the shadow grabbed Reighn, and hurled her out of the window. Reighn hit the grass outside, hard, wincing. She was alright, but the shadow loomed over her....
Jairah awoke with a start, a gasp coming out of her lips. She pulled her hand from Legolas' and pushed herself up as best she could, as Legolas' legs and arms were locked around her possessively. He was startled awake with her gasp, and as she let herself fall back down to rest on the pillows again.
He felt the fear and concern in her heart. "What is it, my love?" he asked, kissing her gently as he did.
"Reighn," Jairah said. "I have just heard her call to me, in a dream. The shadows are attacking. One attacked her in my dream. We must get there as soon as possible, Legolas. I think she is in real danger."
Legolas stroked her hair, kissed her forehead. "We are leaving in a few hours, Gandalf is going to take us all there. We will help her, Jairah. Reighn is strong, she will be able to fight off the Shadow that attacked her. " He nuzzled her, and she smiled. The fear in her heart was quickly replaced by love, love so strong it threatened to make her burst.
She looked up at him, looking down at her, his eyes twinkling, and she leaned up and kissed him gently again. "I love you, Legolas." she said, after she'd pulled away. "So much it threatens to make me burst!" she giggled, again like when she was younger. This warmed his heart all the more. She knew, he wouldn't let the power corrupt her.
He took her head in his hands, and touched their foreheads together. "I love you, as well, if not more, Jairah. I will always love you, i have always loved you. We are one, you and i." Then he kissed her again, and desire in the hearts of both of them took over, their lovemaking pushing the thought of imminent battle ahead of them out of their minds once more.