Chapter One: What Was It You Wanted?
by Sabaye Leyr
A/N: A different sort of Legolas story. Please take a look at it before you pass it off as another Mary Sue *shudders* Thanks!
~~
Prince Legolas was on patrol through his forest of
Mirkwood, bow drawn and ready to fire in a moment. The disgusting,
scum of the earth Orcs were destroying his precious trees, and he was going
to get them.
It was darker than usual; barely even a ray of sunlight
was able to cut through the thick, dark green leaves. It was going
to rain soon, Legolas could smell the moisture in the air.
He turned sharply and peered into the darkness.
He heard laughter and talking. His curiosity peaked, he padded silently
forward, parting the leaves.
There was a small village set in the forest, on
the edge of a river. Legolas didn't know who dwelled there, but he
knew it wasn't Orcs and that he had left his father's land.
A crack of thunder sounded, and rain suddenly poured
out of the sky, instantly drenching Legolas. There were several shrieks
from the town as the residents rushed inside their homes.
Legolas merely sat down, enjoying the refreshing
rains. He studied the town and the forest around it with emotionless
features, looking at every little detail. A human would have quickly
became bored of this, but not him. He loved the forest and everything
in it and was anxious to learn anything he could about it.
While Legolas was transfixed with the trees and
plants, he didn't notice that the down pour had caused the river to rise,
it's waters running muddy.
His pointed ears caught a cry, nearly lost in the
wind. He leapt up, and saw that the water had crashed into one of
the smaller houses that was about twenty feet away from the rest of the
town.
A small boy was being swept away by the current,
his head bobbing up and down.
Legolas started, debating on whether he should moved forward. After
less than a second's hesitation he leapt to his feet; he would not let
a child drown. He splashed into the icy water, balancing lightly on the
rocks at the bottom of the rushing water.
The current was extremely powerful, even Legolas
was having problems staying upright. He slowly waded closer and closer
to the shrieking, drowning child.
Another splash cut through the steady roar of the
angry stream. Legolas narrowed his eyes and could make out a vague shape.
A human was foolishly attempting to brave the water's fury. Now he'd end
up rescuing two instead of one. Legolas, exasperated, pulled his feet up
and let the current wash him downstream towards the humans.
When he was close enough, he quickly drew his bow,
savagely shoving it into the silt at the bottom of the river. The bow sunk
deep into the dirt and held him in one place until he could find his footing
once again. Now he could make out both shapes. To his surprise, the other
human was a female!
The human female was closer to the child than he
was, but not by much. Her hair color was indeterminable due to the mud
and water that had soaked it, causing it to cling around her features in
slight curls. Her eyes were light, reflecting the sky, which made them
appear black.
She threw herself forwards and caught the child,
hauling him up in her arms. The river was rising swiftly, and the woman
had to hold the child high to keep it's head out of the water.
In that position he knew the woman would not be
able to keep her balance and he feared he'd be finding their bodies, washed
up, a couple days later.
"Ai! Estel enni, firiath, a lasto! (Alas,
Trust me, mortal, and listen!)" He cried over the noise. The human
turned to look at him.
"Master Elf!" She replied. "Get out of the center!
The river rises fast and is under the control of foul creatures; they will
strike you with it when they realize what is happening!" She looked frantic.
Legolas shook his head.
"Give me your hand!" He reached out towards her
after leaping onto a higher rock where the water ran up only to his ankles.
The human looked skeptical, but gripped the child tight with one hand and
reached out with the other.
The river surged suddenly and her feet were knocked
out from under her. She let out a cry and fell, but kept her hand out.
Legolas dived forward to catch it but missed her
by less than an inch. Once she was in the water, the current smashed
her into the rock he was standing on and her head cracked against the surface
before she was shoved downstream. He cried after her in Elvish, trying
to get a reply, but there was no answer.
Legolas skillfully jumped rocks before leaping into
the water and grabbing her lifeless body. He held on to the woman's wrist
and spoke directly to the child.
"Climb onto my back and hold on to my neck. Do not
let go." he told him softly. The child nodded and proceeded to do so. Legolas
lifted the maiden up in his arms and struggled back towards land.
He could faintly make out the shape of a large human
at the shore. His legs were freezing, the cold had begun affect him even
though he had a high tolerance for it. If he was beginning to be cold,
it was a given that the humans were freezing.
He sloshed the last couple feet and desperately
cried out to the human.
The human grabbed Legolas by the forearm and hauled
him out of the river, taking the child off of Legolas's back as soon as
the Elf's feet touched solid earth. After that he took the maiden
from him and set her gently on the ground.
Legolas swayed, all the warmth and strength gone
from his legs. The human caught him before he fell and lowered him
to the ground before rushing back into the village.
Legolas's legs began to burn as heat and feeling
returned. He was still nervous and alert, however, and he turned
his head to look towards the village. That was when he realized that
in his hurry, the human and put him down where his head was resting on
the female's stomach. Legolas suddenly felt very uncomfortable.
His head was rising unrythmically with her uneven breathing and her warmth,
although weak, was strangely comforting.
Quickly, the Elven Prince sat up and turned around
to look at the human. Her features were pale and her lips colored
blue with cold. Her hair was clinging around her face, leaving muddy
streaks, and the worst thing of all was that blood was leaking from her
head onto the ground, not to mention her breathing was labored. Legolas
watched, pity tugging at his heart as the human stirred fitfully in her
unconsciousness.
Legolas swung around, hand at one of his silver
daggers at the sound of footsteps. It was only the human, who held
up his hands in a gesture of peace. Legolas let his hands fall back
to his sides as a reply.
"Master Elf, I am Davied. Our town is forever
in your debt." the human dipped his head respectfully.
"Will you not provide care for the lady?"
Legolas asked instantly, worriedly glancing down at the blood that was
mingling with the rainwater until it ran into the river.
"I wish care could be given to Lady Aine, but our
healer is in the midst of another emergency." Davied explained, glancing
down at the still form of Aine.
"Well, is there an empty room where we can get her
out of the rain? I can provide care if I need to." Legolas
felt guilty, like this was his fault. Perhaps, if he had been watching
closer he could have warned the town before the river destroyed the home.
A thousand other "what ifs" and scoldings crossed his mind and the Prince
forced them down. He stooped and pulled the maiden into his arms.
As he walked down the muddy path, following Davied,
he laughed softly to himself. He could almost imagine his nephew,
Gaya, prancing alongside him making little kid faces and teasing him about
being in 'love' with the pretty girl. Legolas wondered if that was
why he was helping her; because the little boy in the river had reminded
him of Gaya. Legolas let out a soft, sad sigh. Oh, he missed
Gaya so much. He'd never forgive the dwarves for their errors that
caused the Orc invasion that took the little boy's life away.
Davied stopped and pushed open a door to a small
house.
"This is my home; put the lady in the back room.
I'll bring anything you need." Davied explained graciously, peering
nervously at Aine.
"Some warm broth, and cloth wrappings, and warm
water should do." Legolas said after a moment. Davied nodded
and rushed off into the sheets of rain. Legolas kicked open the door
to the back room and put her on the bed. She stirred slightly at
the change of surfaces, then moved no more.
The color had returned to her face, and although
Legolas did not know the color of her hair, he observed that she must be
fair, but somewhat plain and not out of the ordinary for a human.
There was a feeling about her that made him think that she must be sad
and troubled. His elven eyes could pick up sorrow and stress lines
barely etched across her otherwise smooth features.
Davied came back into the house, balancing a couple
bowls and a handful of strips of cloth. Legolas's face lit up.
Wonderful! He'd be able to heal up the human, wait for the rain to stop
and then get back home.
He quickly bandaged her head, washing out the wound.
Legolas only hesitated a moment before slightly
pushing up Aine's shirt, knowing what he would find. The slightly
tanned skin was a glaring purple, brown and red...her back was covered
by one huge, painful bruise.
Legolas winced slightly, lightly touching Aine's
back. Even in her unconciousness, her body instantly recoiled.
"Several broken ribs I'd say...the river is not
something to mess with." Davied commented blandly. Legolas
was going to give him a withering glare, but realized the human was only
trying to help and ignored the comment.
He tightly wrapped her ribs, looking away like a
gentlemen when he was forced to wrap certain areas of her upper torso.
Finally, he finished, and gently woke her up.
"Aine, neth ned i camlann nin i Eldar... (Aine,
you are in the hands of the Elves...)" he said softly, knowing she
wouldn't understand him, but his language was comforting to humans.
He filled a spoon full of the broth and brought it to her lips.
Aine peered at him from dazed, half-closed, blue-green
eyes. Slowly she opened her lips, and Legolas poured in the liquid.
She tried to swallow, but it hurt too much, and she began to cough, sputtering
and choking.
Legolas let out a curse and leapt forwards, sitting
her upright and speaking to her in rapid Elvish.
Her breaths eventually quieted and Legolas let out
a relieved breath. He could sense that it was getting late
and that he was required back in his father's house.
"Davied of the humans, I give her care to you.
I must return to my home. If there are any problems, ride hard and
fast to the palace of King Thranduil, telling him 'Enni am Legolas i
ion uin Thranduil's mellon.' They will let you pass. Do
not let anything happen to her; she rescued the likeness of someone dear
to me." Legolas told the human, before vanishing out the door and
into the forests of Mirkwood.
~~~~
Three weeks later...
Legolas was sitting in a large tree, relaxing
and watching some children play in the fields. He was contemplating
whether to join them when he heard someone at the base of his tree and
he looked down.
One of the men of his father's court, Silne, was
looking up at him with an expression of impatience.
"Legolas, your father calls you. He says a
party of humans is here to speak with you, bearing the message 'I am Legolas
the son of Thranduil's friend.'
Legolas's eyes widened. That meant that something
had happened to Aine! He leapt from his tree and ran across the field
and up stone steps into his fathers court.
He threw open the doors and saw his father sitting
high upon his throne.
And Davied and Aine sitting in chairs opposite to
them.
"Ah, Legolas. I have just been speaking to
the delightful humans whose life you saved." Legolas could not tell
if his father was being sarcastic or honest, but he could see that Thranduil
had no disapproval of his actions.
Legolas came to stand by his father and got his
first decent look at Aine of the Humans.
She was tall, with light but tan skin. Her
eyes sparkled a blue-amber in the golden hall. Her hair was the color
of a raging fire, a dark red-gold.
Aine was not particuarly fair by Elf standards;
in fact, she was different in features than any female, human or not, that
Legolas had seen before.
She did not have the dark beauty of the Evenstar
or the light, golden beauty of Galadriel. She was...bright.
Like fire.
Legolas was suddenly immensly curious about her,
her past, and where those soft, almost invisible lines on her pretty face
had come from. His delight grew when he suddenly realized what her
name meant in the language of the humans; Witty and intelligent.
In human myth Aine was the queen of the faeries.
"My lady, it is a pleasure to finally meet you."
Legolas spoke after a moment, bowing slightly. A smile played on
Aine's lips.
"You too, Legolas. I am eternally grateful
for your efforts on my behalf." she replied with a nod.
"It was my pleasure. You saved someone in
the likeness of a loved one of mine that I don't think I could loose again."
Legolas countered, grinning somewhat mischeviously. Aine tilted her
head at the last part of his sentence, her eyes trying to read him.
"Perhaps you two would like to stroll in the garden
while I discuss buisness with Master Davied." Thranduil said after a moment
of silence.
"Of course, lord." Aine replied, standing
up. Legolas, under the glare of his father, quickly leapt forward
and offered her his hand. She took it, her eyebrows raised in a bemused
expression.
Legolas lead her out into the many, winding gardens
of Mirkwood.
"What did you mean, Master Legolas, when you said
I saved that little boy 'in the likeness of a loved one of mine that I
don't think I could loose again'?" Aine asked after a moment in a
soft voice.
"I'm not sure you'd understand." Legolas replied
curtly, and was immediatly sorry he had said it. He wouldn't talk
about the death of Gaya with his own father, he wasn't used to talking
about it. Surprise lingered in her eyes, and her eyebrows knitted
together.
Aine pulled her hand out of Legolas's grasp, looking
slightly offended but mostly determined.
"Come with me, Prince. I have something to
show you." with that, she pulled her skirt up to her ankles and walked
off the path, whistling.
A dark horse, still saddled, came galloping over
the hill. It slowed down and trotted directly to Aine.
"We're going to Minas Mirkwood for a moment, Prince.
We'll be back by nightfall, I promise." Aine said, after seeing the
hesitant look in the Elf's eyes.
"Very well." he replied. Aine tried
to pull herself into the saddle, but almost instantly winced and had to
grab the horn of the saddle to keep from falling.
Legolas moved forward smoothly and caught her.
It had been expected, her ribs would still have been in bad shape.
After a second, he lifted her atop the horse.
Aine looked rather embarrassed and put out, but
made no comment as to not offend or anger the Elf. She put her hand
out. Legolas stared at it. Aine laughed for a moment at the
look on his face, one of pure bewilderment. It was as if he was saying,
"I just put you up on the horse, and now you want off the damn thing?"
"Come, Master Legolas, you don't think you can run
while I ride the horse? Gaeline will carry you too." Legolas
stared at her for one last second, then mounted the horse, climbing into
the saddle behind Aine.
Aine grabbed the reins and clicked softly.
Gaeline leapt forward, galloping through the trees.
Halfway through the journey, Aine apparently got
bored and began to speak an old song softly under her breath.
"The leaves were long, the grass was green,
The hemlock-umbels tall and fair,
And in the glade a light was seen
Of stars in shadow shimmering.... "
Legolas was slightly astonished; humans usually did not know that song. Before she could continue, he took up the next part. He, however, sang it instead of just saying the words.
"Tinúviel was dancing there
To music of a pipe unseen,
And light of stars was in her hair,
And in her raiment glimmering..."
Aine turned to look at him, and when she saw he was
smiling, she grinned back. For a moment they sat upon Gaeline, who
had stopped moving and they hadn't noticed. Legolas was about
to ask her where she had learned the Lay of Luthien, but the words didn't
come out of his mouth before the horse shifted, and snorted softly, snapping
them out of their reverie.
He had come to a small patch of trees that were
blocking some other area. Legolas hopped off the horse and helped
Aine down, careful not to jar her ribs.
Aine beckoned to him, motioning to follow, and slipped
between the trees.
Legolas followed her, and found himself standing
in the midst of hundreds of graves.
~~
Please review; it is the only reward a writer gets.
Namarie,
Sabaye Leyr