Disclaimer: Tolkien owns LOTR and all things Middle Earth, blah blah blah.
A/N: Chapter 31 has been seriously edited and reposted. Those of you who have already read it should probably go back and reread it in order to follow this chapter a bit better.
Chapter 32 - Aftermaths
With mounting panic, Legolas searched for Alania not hearing the soldiers' shouts of joy at their victory. He spotted Roxy and Georn still side by side and felt the first twinge of guilt at his separation from his lover. Alania was not with them and throwing a questioning glance at his friends, he was answered with frowns of concern. Silently praying to the gods, he continued his search. Roxy and Georn saw the worry and fear etched on the elf's face. Seeing that Alania was not with him, they joined him in looking for her. As the minutes passed Roxy grimly kept silent about the fact that she had begun to look at the dead bodies for her friend.
Aerdin reached his keep breathless and terrified for the first time since battle began. Alania hadn't stirred for the last few minutes and her breathing was becoming more ragged. Screaming out for a healer, he lay her in the first empty space he could find. The halls were lined with injured and dying being attended to, and when no one came to his aid immediately he threw his weight as king and commanded the nearest attendant to Alania's side. Knowing that her friends would be looking for her, Aerdin sent a guard out to find Elladan or Elrohir first, as they were known for their healing skills, and then to seek out anyone she knew and inform them that she was injured.
The guard found Elrohir first, who immediately headed back to assess the situation. Gandalf and Elladan followed shortly with Legolas, Georn and Roxy finding out last. When the guard informed Roxy of Alania's whereabouts, she blanched with fear for her friend. She had seen what the poison does and knew that Alania's chances of survival were nowhere near comforting.
At the keep, it took both Georn and Aerdin to hold back Legolas and Roxy from rushing to her side and interfering with Elrohir and Elladan. Elrohir had started working on her when he spotted where she was, using every kind of healing magic his father had taught him. Elladan joined his brother as soon as he had arrived, and after a few hours all the brothers could do was wait. Aerdin had Alania moved to a private room, and her friends took turns at her side, though Legolas stayed by her the entire time.
Loathe as he was to walk away from Alania, Aerdin forced himself to attend to the rest of the city's needs in the aftermath. He sent word out of their victory, though he would not consider it one is Alania died. He requested Gandalf's council for both his civic responsibilities as well as his personal needs. Aerdin knew that Gandalf would keep him focused as much as possible on the things that needed his attention.
Elrohir and Elladan took turns checking on Alania in between their duties within the city. Their first task had sadly been to bury their friend Teleris. In his honor they sang of his valor and of his life and deeds in Lothlorien to his time in Minas Tirith. Their duet was heard by a great many humans and though they did not understand the words they understood the depth of feeling in their song. Teleris was buried in the gardens where he had trained Alania and Roxy, and where all the citizens of the city could pay homage to his bravery. Years later a great tree that never shed its leaves would grow tall and beautiful over his grave.
Word slowly spread through the city of Alania's illness as the city slowly began its return to normalcy. As it's people slowly came home and learned that she had killed Malficent and had been injured saving their king, they began a vigil and left flowers for her at the entrance to the keep. Roxy had gotten sick of sitting at her side not able to help Alania, so Roxy gave herself and Georn something to do by gathering all these flowers and placing them on the graves of the soldiers that had died in battle. It had been Roxy's idea to do this, knowing that Alania would have liked that.
Several days later, Legolas still had not slept nor ate nor moved from her side. Alania slept restlessly with fever and neither Elrohir nor Elladan had any words of comfort for him. He found himself consumed with guilt that he had not stayed with her. The idea that he could have prevented her injury grew inside him with every passing hour and he spent a great deal of time whispering apologies and affirmations of his love to her, even as he urged her to fight the poison and return to him. When anyone else was in the room, he remained silent and let them speak to her. Occasionally, when someone else kept them company, Legolas would brush her hair and braid it as he had need to do something with his hands.
Gandalf walked into the room one night to check on Legolas rather than Alania. Seeing the grief on the elf's face, the wizard grew concerned for his welfare. He placed a hand on Legolas's shoulder in comfort and said "You must rest and eat Legolas. You are no good to her if you are tired. Someone is always here with her and I promise you that you will be the first to know if there are any changes. Go rest now."
"I cannot leave her, Gandalf. It is my fault she was hurt. I left her side during the battle" he replied.
"Legolas, you are being foolish. No one can predict what will happen in battle. You know this more than anyone. She moved away from you as much as you moved from her. It was the battle that caused it, not your lack of care. It is possible that even if you had noticed your separation as it was happening you would have been unable to prevent it. Do not dwell on things you cannot change."
Roxy walked in at this time and kept silent as the two continued their argument quietly. Finally she grew sick of hearing Legolas protest and said "For god's sake Legolas, shut up. Alania knew what she was getting into. I understand you feel guilty and are worried that she might not wake up, but so am I. And so are many people. You think Georn or Aerdin don't care? Aerdin is consumed with guilt as the arrow was aimed for him, and yet he manages the responsibilities of the city through his concern. Somehow, the rest of us are doing things. We have to, because to sit and wait for something to happen won't make it happen any sooner. Learn something from us humans. A watched pot doesn't boil Legolas. Now go get some rest and eat something, and stop whining. Alania would understand that need." Roxy reached out and stroked the elf's head in encouragement and continued in a softer tone. "Alania would kill you herself if she saw what you were doing. And I'm worried about you too. Please Legolas. Go rest."
Reluctantly Legolas took Roxy's advice and retired to his rooms. Gandalf left shortly after, leaving Roxy alone with Alania for the first time since before the battle. Taking Alania's hand, Roxy stared at her friend for some time. All the stress finally came to a head for her and Roxy started to cry long and hard as she relived the terror in battle and with her suppressed anxiety over her friend's condition. Calming down somewhat, Roxy laid her head on Alania's belly and whispered to her friend "Please wake up Alania. Who else will get my stupid pop culture jokes here?" Then Roxy fell asleep.
Sometime that night Alania's fever broke and she finally slept more comfortably. When Roxy awoke she saw that Alania was no longer tossing fitfully or sweating. She found Elladan immediately to look at her and got someone to inform Aerdin and Legolas. Watching Elladan check on Alania, Roxy cried tears of relief when she saw the elf smile for the first time since the injury.
About a day later, Alania opened her eyes. Looking around she saw Georn and Roxy asleep in chairs next to her and wondered what was going on. Mentally ticking off the last things she remembered, she realized that she had been injured rather badly and her friends had been worried enough to sit at her side until she awoke. Smiling at their concern, she sat up slowly and gripped the side of the bed when a wave of dizziness hit her. She was bent forward with her head in her lap trying to get the blood back into her head, when Aerdin walked in.
Seeing her sitting up gave Aerdin quite a pleasant shock. He rushed to her side and quietly asked her if she was alright. He suggested that she lie back down when she explained, but she refused. Aerdin had to smile at her stubbornness, as it was a clear indication to him that she would be alright. He stroked her hair and rubbed her back as she recovered from her dizzy spell.
"Roxy and Georn will want to see you up, you know" Aerdin whispered.
"I know. Leave them. If Roxy fell asleep in that position she must have been really tired. I have no intentions of going anywhere, so they can see me later" whispered Alania in reply. A few moments later she whispered "Legolas isn't here. Is he. alright?"
"He is fine, Alania. I do not know how that elf manages to come out of a battle with barely a scratch. We were more concerned about him after he learned of your injury. He did not leave your side for five days straight. No sleep or food either. Roxy yelled at him though. Since then he has only spent the grand majority of his waking hours in here with you. It is ironic that you would wake up a few minutes after he leaves you to rest."
Alania breathed deeply with calm at this news and smiled. Then said "I'm thirsty and starving. Think we can go get something from the kitchens?"
Aerdin smiled widely and helped her to stand. They slowly made their way out to the kitchens, taking their time as Alania was very weak from her ordeal. She cursed under her breath the entire way to the kitchen, so frustrated was she with her body's weakness.
Aerdin laughed at her and said "You will be back to normal soon enough. You are also probably very hungry and that does not help. We will get some food in front of you and then I will have Legolas informed of this turn of events."
Alania frowned at bit and said "I was hoping that you would first tell me how long I was sick and what has happened since. Also I want to know who didn't make it."
"Alright. I can answer your questions as we walk to the kitchens. But I swore to Legolas that he would know immediately of any change regarding you. He almost tore Gandalf's head off when he saw that you had moved in your sleep and no one had mentioned it" he said with a teasing smile.
Alania rolled her eyes at Aerdin and said "Though I know you exaggerate, I can completely see him doing something like that."
By the time they were in the kitchen, Aerdin had told her of all the things going on in the city. He had waited to tell her about Teleris until she was seated and had drank some water. She was clearly still numb from the battle and her wounds, as her only reaction to learning of the elf's death was a slight nod and frown. Aerdin knew it would sink in fully later and that she would deal with her friend and mentor's death then.
He had someone prepare some easy fare for her and sent word to Legolas to come to the kitchens immediately.
Legolas was standing at the window of his room deep in thought when he received the note from Aerdin. He had left Alania a short while ago and, though he was relieved her fever had broken, he was concerned that she still hadn't awoken. Reading the note, he frowned and headed to the kitchens to see what Aerdin needed. As he approached the kitchens, he could make out Aerdin speaking to someone regarding the status of the rebuilding of the city. He wondered who Aerdin had to inform of things obvious to anyone looking. Grasping that the king must be speaking to someone who either hadn't or couldn't see the city's condition, he ran the rest of the way.
Turning the corner to the kitchens, his thoughts were confirmed when he saw Aerdin sitting next to Alania, who was quietly eating some soup. His heart stopped beating for a fraction of a second, and then it felt as though it would explode in his chest with joy and relief. Legolas walked to her side and kneeled beside her staring into her face. He was sure that if he touched her she would disappear and he would awake from a wonderful dream.
Alania gave the elf her widest and most comforting smile as she saw a tear trickle down the side of his face. Neither noticed Aerdin get up and leave the room allowing them privacy. Alania reached out and traced Legolas's jaw line and then toyed with a lock of his hair. "Hi" she said after a while.
Legolas wrapped his arms around her hips and buried his head in her lap, refusing to let go for some time. He felt her run her hand through his hair and knew that she was murmuring soft words to him, but he didn't absorb any of it. The relief he was feeling was too much and he didn't realize that he was crying quietly as he let go of all the anxiety he had been holding in the past few days.
Finally he looked up and said "Please forgive me for leaving your side, melamin. I would have taken the arrow for you had I been there."
Alania wiped the tears from his face with her thumbs, smiled at him and replied "There is nothing to forgive Legolas. It was not your fault and these things have been known to happen from time to time. As you can see, I am going to be just fine. Now let me finish eating because I am still hungry and Aerdin informs me that food is good for me."
Looking at her, Legolas had to smile in response to her words. Though he would always feel somewhat responsible for the things she had experienced, he understood that she had not gone into the situation blindly. He knew that the full impact of the past few weeks had not completely sunk in, and that at some point Alania would be calm and well enough to deal with it. He swore to himself that he would be by her side and take the brunt of her reaction to compensate for his separation from her.
They quietly spoke as she finished her soup, and when she admitted to being exhausted Alania indulged Legolas's need to hold her as he carried her to their bedroom. He helped her wash up a bit and change clothes before laying next to her as she slept. So distracted with her recovery, Legolas could not rest and watched her sleep until she awoke many hours later.
*****
Yep, that's right. This is where I ask for reviews. Thanks!
A/N: Chapter 31 has been seriously edited and reposted. Those of you who have already read it should probably go back and reread it in order to follow this chapter a bit better.
Chapter 32 - Aftermaths
With mounting panic, Legolas searched for Alania not hearing the soldiers' shouts of joy at their victory. He spotted Roxy and Georn still side by side and felt the first twinge of guilt at his separation from his lover. Alania was not with them and throwing a questioning glance at his friends, he was answered with frowns of concern. Silently praying to the gods, he continued his search. Roxy and Georn saw the worry and fear etched on the elf's face. Seeing that Alania was not with him, they joined him in looking for her. As the minutes passed Roxy grimly kept silent about the fact that she had begun to look at the dead bodies for her friend.
Aerdin reached his keep breathless and terrified for the first time since battle began. Alania hadn't stirred for the last few minutes and her breathing was becoming more ragged. Screaming out for a healer, he lay her in the first empty space he could find. The halls were lined with injured and dying being attended to, and when no one came to his aid immediately he threw his weight as king and commanded the nearest attendant to Alania's side. Knowing that her friends would be looking for her, Aerdin sent a guard out to find Elladan or Elrohir first, as they were known for their healing skills, and then to seek out anyone she knew and inform them that she was injured.
The guard found Elrohir first, who immediately headed back to assess the situation. Gandalf and Elladan followed shortly with Legolas, Georn and Roxy finding out last. When the guard informed Roxy of Alania's whereabouts, she blanched with fear for her friend. She had seen what the poison does and knew that Alania's chances of survival were nowhere near comforting.
At the keep, it took both Georn and Aerdin to hold back Legolas and Roxy from rushing to her side and interfering with Elrohir and Elladan. Elrohir had started working on her when he spotted where she was, using every kind of healing magic his father had taught him. Elladan joined his brother as soon as he had arrived, and after a few hours all the brothers could do was wait. Aerdin had Alania moved to a private room, and her friends took turns at her side, though Legolas stayed by her the entire time.
Loathe as he was to walk away from Alania, Aerdin forced himself to attend to the rest of the city's needs in the aftermath. He sent word out of their victory, though he would not consider it one is Alania died. He requested Gandalf's council for both his civic responsibilities as well as his personal needs. Aerdin knew that Gandalf would keep him focused as much as possible on the things that needed his attention.
Elrohir and Elladan took turns checking on Alania in between their duties within the city. Their first task had sadly been to bury their friend Teleris. In his honor they sang of his valor and of his life and deeds in Lothlorien to his time in Minas Tirith. Their duet was heard by a great many humans and though they did not understand the words they understood the depth of feeling in their song. Teleris was buried in the gardens where he had trained Alania and Roxy, and where all the citizens of the city could pay homage to his bravery. Years later a great tree that never shed its leaves would grow tall and beautiful over his grave.
Word slowly spread through the city of Alania's illness as the city slowly began its return to normalcy. As it's people slowly came home and learned that she had killed Malficent and had been injured saving their king, they began a vigil and left flowers for her at the entrance to the keep. Roxy had gotten sick of sitting at her side not able to help Alania, so Roxy gave herself and Georn something to do by gathering all these flowers and placing them on the graves of the soldiers that had died in battle. It had been Roxy's idea to do this, knowing that Alania would have liked that.
Several days later, Legolas still had not slept nor ate nor moved from her side. Alania slept restlessly with fever and neither Elrohir nor Elladan had any words of comfort for him. He found himself consumed with guilt that he had not stayed with her. The idea that he could have prevented her injury grew inside him with every passing hour and he spent a great deal of time whispering apologies and affirmations of his love to her, even as he urged her to fight the poison and return to him. When anyone else was in the room, he remained silent and let them speak to her. Occasionally, when someone else kept them company, Legolas would brush her hair and braid it as he had need to do something with his hands.
Gandalf walked into the room one night to check on Legolas rather than Alania. Seeing the grief on the elf's face, the wizard grew concerned for his welfare. He placed a hand on Legolas's shoulder in comfort and said "You must rest and eat Legolas. You are no good to her if you are tired. Someone is always here with her and I promise you that you will be the first to know if there are any changes. Go rest now."
"I cannot leave her, Gandalf. It is my fault she was hurt. I left her side during the battle" he replied.
"Legolas, you are being foolish. No one can predict what will happen in battle. You know this more than anyone. She moved away from you as much as you moved from her. It was the battle that caused it, not your lack of care. It is possible that even if you had noticed your separation as it was happening you would have been unable to prevent it. Do not dwell on things you cannot change."
Roxy walked in at this time and kept silent as the two continued their argument quietly. Finally she grew sick of hearing Legolas protest and said "For god's sake Legolas, shut up. Alania knew what she was getting into. I understand you feel guilty and are worried that she might not wake up, but so am I. And so are many people. You think Georn or Aerdin don't care? Aerdin is consumed with guilt as the arrow was aimed for him, and yet he manages the responsibilities of the city through his concern. Somehow, the rest of us are doing things. We have to, because to sit and wait for something to happen won't make it happen any sooner. Learn something from us humans. A watched pot doesn't boil Legolas. Now go get some rest and eat something, and stop whining. Alania would understand that need." Roxy reached out and stroked the elf's head in encouragement and continued in a softer tone. "Alania would kill you herself if she saw what you were doing. And I'm worried about you too. Please Legolas. Go rest."
Reluctantly Legolas took Roxy's advice and retired to his rooms. Gandalf left shortly after, leaving Roxy alone with Alania for the first time since before the battle. Taking Alania's hand, Roxy stared at her friend for some time. All the stress finally came to a head for her and Roxy started to cry long and hard as she relived the terror in battle and with her suppressed anxiety over her friend's condition. Calming down somewhat, Roxy laid her head on Alania's belly and whispered to her friend "Please wake up Alania. Who else will get my stupid pop culture jokes here?" Then Roxy fell asleep.
Sometime that night Alania's fever broke and she finally slept more comfortably. When Roxy awoke she saw that Alania was no longer tossing fitfully or sweating. She found Elladan immediately to look at her and got someone to inform Aerdin and Legolas. Watching Elladan check on Alania, Roxy cried tears of relief when she saw the elf smile for the first time since the injury.
About a day later, Alania opened her eyes. Looking around she saw Georn and Roxy asleep in chairs next to her and wondered what was going on. Mentally ticking off the last things she remembered, she realized that she had been injured rather badly and her friends had been worried enough to sit at her side until she awoke. Smiling at their concern, she sat up slowly and gripped the side of the bed when a wave of dizziness hit her. She was bent forward with her head in her lap trying to get the blood back into her head, when Aerdin walked in.
Seeing her sitting up gave Aerdin quite a pleasant shock. He rushed to her side and quietly asked her if she was alright. He suggested that she lie back down when she explained, but she refused. Aerdin had to smile at her stubbornness, as it was a clear indication to him that she would be alright. He stroked her hair and rubbed her back as she recovered from her dizzy spell.
"Roxy and Georn will want to see you up, you know" Aerdin whispered.
"I know. Leave them. If Roxy fell asleep in that position she must have been really tired. I have no intentions of going anywhere, so they can see me later" whispered Alania in reply. A few moments later she whispered "Legolas isn't here. Is he. alright?"
"He is fine, Alania. I do not know how that elf manages to come out of a battle with barely a scratch. We were more concerned about him after he learned of your injury. He did not leave your side for five days straight. No sleep or food either. Roxy yelled at him though. Since then he has only spent the grand majority of his waking hours in here with you. It is ironic that you would wake up a few minutes after he leaves you to rest."
Alania breathed deeply with calm at this news and smiled. Then said "I'm thirsty and starving. Think we can go get something from the kitchens?"
Aerdin smiled widely and helped her to stand. They slowly made their way out to the kitchens, taking their time as Alania was very weak from her ordeal. She cursed under her breath the entire way to the kitchen, so frustrated was she with her body's weakness.
Aerdin laughed at her and said "You will be back to normal soon enough. You are also probably very hungry and that does not help. We will get some food in front of you and then I will have Legolas informed of this turn of events."
Alania frowned at bit and said "I was hoping that you would first tell me how long I was sick and what has happened since. Also I want to know who didn't make it."
"Alright. I can answer your questions as we walk to the kitchens. But I swore to Legolas that he would know immediately of any change regarding you. He almost tore Gandalf's head off when he saw that you had moved in your sleep and no one had mentioned it" he said with a teasing smile.
Alania rolled her eyes at Aerdin and said "Though I know you exaggerate, I can completely see him doing something like that."
By the time they were in the kitchen, Aerdin had told her of all the things going on in the city. He had waited to tell her about Teleris until she was seated and had drank some water. She was clearly still numb from the battle and her wounds, as her only reaction to learning of the elf's death was a slight nod and frown. Aerdin knew it would sink in fully later and that she would deal with her friend and mentor's death then.
He had someone prepare some easy fare for her and sent word to Legolas to come to the kitchens immediately.
Legolas was standing at the window of his room deep in thought when he received the note from Aerdin. He had left Alania a short while ago and, though he was relieved her fever had broken, he was concerned that she still hadn't awoken. Reading the note, he frowned and headed to the kitchens to see what Aerdin needed. As he approached the kitchens, he could make out Aerdin speaking to someone regarding the status of the rebuilding of the city. He wondered who Aerdin had to inform of things obvious to anyone looking. Grasping that the king must be speaking to someone who either hadn't or couldn't see the city's condition, he ran the rest of the way.
Turning the corner to the kitchens, his thoughts were confirmed when he saw Aerdin sitting next to Alania, who was quietly eating some soup. His heart stopped beating for a fraction of a second, and then it felt as though it would explode in his chest with joy and relief. Legolas walked to her side and kneeled beside her staring into her face. He was sure that if he touched her she would disappear and he would awake from a wonderful dream.
Alania gave the elf her widest and most comforting smile as she saw a tear trickle down the side of his face. Neither noticed Aerdin get up and leave the room allowing them privacy. Alania reached out and traced Legolas's jaw line and then toyed with a lock of his hair. "Hi" she said after a while.
Legolas wrapped his arms around her hips and buried his head in her lap, refusing to let go for some time. He felt her run her hand through his hair and knew that she was murmuring soft words to him, but he didn't absorb any of it. The relief he was feeling was too much and he didn't realize that he was crying quietly as he let go of all the anxiety he had been holding in the past few days.
Finally he looked up and said "Please forgive me for leaving your side, melamin. I would have taken the arrow for you had I been there."
Alania wiped the tears from his face with her thumbs, smiled at him and replied "There is nothing to forgive Legolas. It was not your fault and these things have been known to happen from time to time. As you can see, I am going to be just fine. Now let me finish eating because I am still hungry and Aerdin informs me that food is good for me."
Looking at her, Legolas had to smile in response to her words. Though he would always feel somewhat responsible for the things she had experienced, he understood that she had not gone into the situation blindly. He knew that the full impact of the past few weeks had not completely sunk in, and that at some point Alania would be calm and well enough to deal with it. He swore to himself that he would be by her side and take the brunt of her reaction to compensate for his separation from her.
They quietly spoke as she finished her soup, and when she admitted to being exhausted Alania indulged Legolas's need to hold her as he carried her to their bedroom. He helped her wash up a bit and change clothes before laying next to her as she slept. So distracted with her recovery, Legolas could not rest and watched her sleep until she awoke many hours later.
*****
Yep, that's right. This is where I ask for reviews. Thanks!