Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings, just my own characters!
Elenya by Shelly
CHAPTER TWENTY
She wandered aimlessly for hours and found herself standing near the stream that flowed down towards the garden where she had first met Elenya and sat down on the ground, her legs suddenly giving out beneath her. In her mind she kept reliving Boromir's attack on her. Never had she been attacked in such a way, and especially not by someone she had once loved with all her heart. Fear clawed its way into her heart as she began to tremble from her memories and the nighttime air. She gathered her knees to her chest and laid her forehead on her knees as she rocked back and forth, the breeze blowing her hair across her back.
She felt a gentle touch on her shoulder and looked up, her eyes wide as she backed away from whoever it was that stood before her, but soon she realized that it was Legolas and the shock finally released her from its grip. He was crouching down beside her, concern in his blue eyes. "Lilli," he whispered.
Tears filled her eyes, and she lept into his arms, great sobs racking her body. He held her gently until her tears subsided to sniffles. "How did you know to find me?" she asked.
"Frodo told us first what had happened then Boromir, who was very shaken by the whole thing. I wanted to kill him for what he did, but Frodo stopped me as did Aragorn."
She held onto him still, finding comfort in his arms and the woodsy scent of him. "I have never been so scared in all my life. Of all the enemies I have faced, I have never felt fear like this."
He was silent a moment. "Lilli, I am sorry I was not there," he whispered and the tone of his voice brought her eyes to his, and she saw they were glistening with moisture.
"My love, do not blame yourself," she replied, touching his face with her hands. "No one could have known this was going to happen and certainly no one expected it. He meant me no real harm as he was under the spell of the ring."
"He attacked you and scared you near to death, and still you defend him," he hissed, his anger rising a bit. "I should think that somewhere deep inside you still love him."
"Yes, I do," she answered. "He is not a bad person. I wish you would see the good qualities in him instead of always focusing on the bad."
"He is of the race of Men," he said. "They have no good qualities."
She stiffened in his arms. "And what of Aragorn?" she asked.
He looked away as she had him backed into a corner. "He is different," he answered.
"Why? Because he was raised by elves and taught their ways? I did not think you were that shallow." She moved from his embrace and rose to her feet. "I fear that even if we do succeed in destroying the ring our world will still be in danger from the prejudices that lie within. Therein lies the true evil." Then she left him there in the shadows and walked back to the fellowship's pavilion where the others prepared themselves for sleep. Aragorn was still awake while the hobbits slept soundly nearby.
"Are you all right?" he asked as he rose to his feet and opened his arms to her.
She embraced him warmly. "As fine as can be expected," she replied.
He eyed her curiously. "Why did Legolas not return with you?"
"I gave him a dressing down I did not wish to give him. Perhaps he is still thinking of my words, perhaps not." She was silent for a moment. "Where is Boromir?"
"He is sitting alone over there," he replied as he gestured into the trees. "He was very distraught at what had happened earlier and blames himself."
She sighed, gazing up through the trees into the starry sky. "I place no blame on him but on the evil that Frodo carries. Though Legolas does not see it that way. He thinks it wrong of me to see the race of men in a different light, as I see all those that live upon this earth and seek not to destroy it." Then she smiled as she looked up at Aragorn. "You helped teach me that all those years ago."
He returned the smile as he kissed her forehead. "I tried, though I think that your time with Boromir taught you even more. But those who would see the world as we do are few and hard to find. Nevertheless, you must look past his exterior and into his heart. He has had few experiences with races other than his own and he only knows what he has been told by others who knew no better."
She allowed herself a bit of laughter. "It is strange to think that he has given his heart to me for all eternity yet I do not know what is in it. I think I should need to work on that. But for now I will speak to Boromir and attempt to ease his mind."
"Then I wish you luck for he has accepted no help from me." He touched her shoulder briefly. "I will be listening in case anything happens."
"Thank you," she replied and began her search for him, finally catching sight of him sitting at the base of a tree, his arms resting on his knees and head hung low. She wasn't sure if he was asleep and quietly approached him, crouching down near him and laying her hand on his. His head raised slowly and his eyes widened when he saw her. "Lilli?"
She smiled. "How are you?" she asked.
He saw the bruise that he had left on her cheek and raised his hand as if to touch it but pulled back as if he was uncertain of what would happen. "Can you ever forgive me for what I did to you?"
"Boromir, I place no blame on you as you were not yourself at the time. At first I was scared and thought that things would never be the same between us, but in the end I forgave you as you had no control over your actions. That is what the ring will do to you if you let yourself be pulled into its spell. Things that you will want to protect will be destroyed instead."
"Yes, I realize that now," he answered.
She smiled. "Good. Now come back to the camp and get some rest." She rose to her feet, offering her hand to help him to his feet. He accepted it and she was suddenly pulled down by his weight.
He caught her and eased her down to the ground. "Careful," he cautioned with the barest hint of laughter.
She sat up and punched him on his arm. "You big oaf! You pulled me down on purpose!"
He laughed. "You should've known better than to try and help me up. I am so much heavier than you, you know."
"That may be true," she answered. "But I can still wrestle you!" She leaped on top of him, pinning him to the ground and laughing in triumph. Soon her laughter turned to yelps as he grabbed her around the waist and flipped her onto the ground, their positions suddenly reversed. She fought against his grip on her arms. "No fair!"
"Do you surrender?" he asked.
"Never," she replied.
"That was your second mistake," he said then resorted to an unexpected form of torture as he began to tickle her around her sensitive ribcage. She howled with laughter as she tried to squirm out from under him. "Changed your mind yet?"
"Enough!" she cried, tears of laughter running into her hair. "You win!"
She calmed as he looked into her eyes. "And what prize do I receive, I wonder?"
She found it hard to breathe as her heart pounded in her chest, and she fought against falling in love with him all over again as here was the Boromir she remembered from their time in Minas Tirith. "Perhaps a small token, my lord? A strand of hair?"
He smiled as he caressed her bruised cheek with his finger, watching her eyes close at his touch. "I was thinking more along the lines of something like this." He lowered his head closer to hers and kissed her softly, the kiss deepening as he felt her fingers run up the side of his neck and into his hair to pull him close with a soft moan of longing.
She had no idea what had possessed her to let him do such a thing. Their teasing of each other had brought back memories of their own time together and the emotions that he had evoked within her, and the smell and strength of him had brought it back to the surface. He pulled away from her, and she saw desire simmering in their blue depths before he lowered his head down to hers once again, suddenly looking up as he caught the sound of running footsteps. They separated just in time to see Aragorn slide to a stop not far from them.
"I heard what sounded like a struggle."
She looked at Boromir and giggled. "He was merely teasing me, Aragorn. I am all right."
He eyed each of them as if he didn't believe them then turned and walked back the way he had come. She sighed in relief then glanced back at Boromir, who ran his fingers through his hair and genuinely looked out of sorts. Then he looked back up at her and she felt as well as saw the desire and love that still swam deep within their depths, an ever present connection that would always exist between them that brought him close to her even now.
But even then she saw the fierceness in his gaze which had her backing away from him until she was stopped by the tree at her back, and she couldn't help but wonder if she had sent Aragorn away too soon. However, as soon as his lips touched hers once again she knew that it was only the strength of his feelings for her that shone through, and she was reminded yet again of how deeply within her soul that she loved him. Just as she knew that the love she shared with Legolas could never compare with this as she was unable to feel the same consuming love and desire that she felt for this human warrior. And it was strange that it had taken the love of another to make her realize how much she loved him.
His lips pulled away from hers to her throat, drawing a tortured groan from her as she was in danger of being consumed by the desire that flowed through her body. "Boromir, come with me," she whispered in his ear as she took his hand in hers and led him through the trees where they ended up in front of her pavilion. She led him through the entrance flaps only to stop short as she saw Elenya standing inside, her amethyst eyes alight with warning. "Elenya, I already know what you are going to say," she began.
"I just don't understand why you would put yourself through this when Legolas has so much to offer you," Elenya argued. "You had just admitted your love for him, how could you do this to him when he loves you so much?"
"Look, I have had it with your meddling with my emotions. You have felt for yourself how much I love Boromir and yet you push me towards someone whom I could never love the same as him," she shot back.
"Maybe I should just leave," Boromir spoke up as he had no idea who this strange elf was and what part she had to play in all this.
Lillisandra grabbed his arm to keep him from leaving. "No, you're not," she answered heatedly. "I'll not be parted from you again as that is what she wishes to happen. Without you here she has a better chance of pressing Legolas' case, just as she has been ever since she emerged from the ring."
"But can you deny the fact that you desired him while in Rivendell?" Elenya returned.
"No, I cannot deny it," she replied. "I was still unsure of whether Boromir was alive, and I now realize that you sensed my feelings towards Legolas and have played upon them since then. I am tired of being manipulated like that as you have cared nothing for my feelings, only that you wish to pair me with someone who was safer for me to be with. And I mean to put an end to the torture you have put me through as a result of it."
"You mean to tell me that you would risk being killed by him just to be with him?" Elenya asked in surprise.
"It's called love, which is something that has been hard for you to comprehend. I did not realize fully what Dairuin had meant by being manipulated by you as I had assumed that it had always been in a strictly battle sense. Little was I aware that you were playing with my emotions so frivolously."
Boromir laid his hands on her shoulders as a gesture of support. "And I believe that we have both been misled to a point. As long as I'm with you, I hear no voices that whisper inside my head like they do at other times. I feel that as long as we are together then you are safe as the voices return when we are apart from one another."
Lillisandra nodded her agreement. "It seems that we both have been victims of a cruel plot to keep us apart, one thinking to keep me alive and the other to try and kill me. But it is as you said, Elenya, love can triumph over evil."
The elf smiled as she realized that they both would make it work through their love for one another. She had thought that she was helping Lillisandra by nudging her in what she had thought was the right direction, but now realized that it could've been her biggest mistake. "Then I wish you both the best of luck," she said as she embraced Lillisandra and kissed her cheek. "You will have no trouble from me from now on." Then she disappeared, leaving them alone.
Boromir sighed as his beloved turned in his arms to lay her head against his chest. "Well, I'm glad that everything's been resolved."
"Not quite yet," she replied. "I still have to speak with Legolas about what has happened."
The flaps opened suddenly and they saw Legolas step inside, his face filled with confusion when he saw them together. "What has happened?" he asked.
*******************
Ahhhhh!!! You Legolas fans are going to kill me now, I know it!!! But Legolas will still play an important part in her life! Don't give up on me now! Please?
Elenya by Shelly
CHAPTER TWENTY
She wandered aimlessly for hours and found herself standing near the stream that flowed down towards the garden where she had first met Elenya and sat down on the ground, her legs suddenly giving out beneath her. In her mind she kept reliving Boromir's attack on her. Never had she been attacked in such a way, and especially not by someone she had once loved with all her heart. Fear clawed its way into her heart as she began to tremble from her memories and the nighttime air. She gathered her knees to her chest and laid her forehead on her knees as she rocked back and forth, the breeze blowing her hair across her back.
She felt a gentle touch on her shoulder and looked up, her eyes wide as she backed away from whoever it was that stood before her, but soon she realized that it was Legolas and the shock finally released her from its grip. He was crouching down beside her, concern in his blue eyes. "Lilli," he whispered.
Tears filled her eyes, and she lept into his arms, great sobs racking her body. He held her gently until her tears subsided to sniffles. "How did you know to find me?" she asked.
"Frodo told us first what had happened then Boromir, who was very shaken by the whole thing. I wanted to kill him for what he did, but Frodo stopped me as did Aragorn."
She held onto him still, finding comfort in his arms and the woodsy scent of him. "I have never been so scared in all my life. Of all the enemies I have faced, I have never felt fear like this."
He was silent a moment. "Lilli, I am sorry I was not there," he whispered and the tone of his voice brought her eyes to his, and she saw they were glistening with moisture.
"My love, do not blame yourself," she replied, touching his face with her hands. "No one could have known this was going to happen and certainly no one expected it. He meant me no real harm as he was under the spell of the ring."
"He attacked you and scared you near to death, and still you defend him," he hissed, his anger rising a bit. "I should think that somewhere deep inside you still love him."
"Yes, I do," she answered. "He is not a bad person. I wish you would see the good qualities in him instead of always focusing on the bad."
"He is of the race of Men," he said. "They have no good qualities."
She stiffened in his arms. "And what of Aragorn?" she asked.
He looked away as she had him backed into a corner. "He is different," he answered.
"Why? Because he was raised by elves and taught their ways? I did not think you were that shallow." She moved from his embrace and rose to her feet. "I fear that even if we do succeed in destroying the ring our world will still be in danger from the prejudices that lie within. Therein lies the true evil." Then she left him there in the shadows and walked back to the fellowship's pavilion where the others prepared themselves for sleep. Aragorn was still awake while the hobbits slept soundly nearby.
"Are you all right?" he asked as he rose to his feet and opened his arms to her.
She embraced him warmly. "As fine as can be expected," she replied.
He eyed her curiously. "Why did Legolas not return with you?"
"I gave him a dressing down I did not wish to give him. Perhaps he is still thinking of my words, perhaps not." She was silent for a moment. "Where is Boromir?"
"He is sitting alone over there," he replied as he gestured into the trees. "He was very distraught at what had happened earlier and blames himself."
She sighed, gazing up through the trees into the starry sky. "I place no blame on him but on the evil that Frodo carries. Though Legolas does not see it that way. He thinks it wrong of me to see the race of men in a different light, as I see all those that live upon this earth and seek not to destroy it." Then she smiled as she looked up at Aragorn. "You helped teach me that all those years ago."
He returned the smile as he kissed her forehead. "I tried, though I think that your time with Boromir taught you even more. But those who would see the world as we do are few and hard to find. Nevertheless, you must look past his exterior and into his heart. He has had few experiences with races other than his own and he only knows what he has been told by others who knew no better."
She allowed herself a bit of laughter. "It is strange to think that he has given his heart to me for all eternity yet I do not know what is in it. I think I should need to work on that. But for now I will speak to Boromir and attempt to ease his mind."
"Then I wish you luck for he has accepted no help from me." He touched her shoulder briefly. "I will be listening in case anything happens."
"Thank you," she replied and began her search for him, finally catching sight of him sitting at the base of a tree, his arms resting on his knees and head hung low. She wasn't sure if he was asleep and quietly approached him, crouching down near him and laying her hand on his. His head raised slowly and his eyes widened when he saw her. "Lilli?"
She smiled. "How are you?" she asked.
He saw the bruise that he had left on her cheek and raised his hand as if to touch it but pulled back as if he was uncertain of what would happen. "Can you ever forgive me for what I did to you?"
"Boromir, I place no blame on you as you were not yourself at the time. At first I was scared and thought that things would never be the same between us, but in the end I forgave you as you had no control over your actions. That is what the ring will do to you if you let yourself be pulled into its spell. Things that you will want to protect will be destroyed instead."
"Yes, I realize that now," he answered.
She smiled. "Good. Now come back to the camp and get some rest." She rose to her feet, offering her hand to help him to his feet. He accepted it and she was suddenly pulled down by his weight.
He caught her and eased her down to the ground. "Careful," he cautioned with the barest hint of laughter.
She sat up and punched him on his arm. "You big oaf! You pulled me down on purpose!"
He laughed. "You should've known better than to try and help me up. I am so much heavier than you, you know."
"That may be true," she answered. "But I can still wrestle you!" She leaped on top of him, pinning him to the ground and laughing in triumph. Soon her laughter turned to yelps as he grabbed her around the waist and flipped her onto the ground, their positions suddenly reversed. She fought against his grip on her arms. "No fair!"
"Do you surrender?" he asked.
"Never," she replied.
"That was your second mistake," he said then resorted to an unexpected form of torture as he began to tickle her around her sensitive ribcage. She howled with laughter as she tried to squirm out from under him. "Changed your mind yet?"
"Enough!" she cried, tears of laughter running into her hair. "You win!"
She calmed as he looked into her eyes. "And what prize do I receive, I wonder?"
She found it hard to breathe as her heart pounded in her chest, and she fought against falling in love with him all over again as here was the Boromir she remembered from their time in Minas Tirith. "Perhaps a small token, my lord? A strand of hair?"
He smiled as he caressed her bruised cheek with his finger, watching her eyes close at his touch. "I was thinking more along the lines of something like this." He lowered his head closer to hers and kissed her softly, the kiss deepening as he felt her fingers run up the side of his neck and into his hair to pull him close with a soft moan of longing.
She had no idea what had possessed her to let him do such a thing. Their teasing of each other had brought back memories of their own time together and the emotions that he had evoked within her, and the smell and strength of him had brought it back to the surface. He pulled away from her, and she saw desire simmering in their blue depths before he lowered his head down to hers once again, suddenly looking up as he caught the sound of running footsteps. They separated just in time to see Aragorn slide to a stop not far from them.
"I heard what sounded like a struggle."
She looked at Boromir and giggled. "He was merely teasing me, Aragorn. I am all right."
He eyed each of them as if he didn't believe them then turned and walked back the way he had come. She sighed in relief then glanced back at Boromir, who ran his fingers through his hair and genuinely looked out of sorts. Then he looked back up at her and she felt as well as saw the desire and love that still swam deep within their depths, an ever present connection that would always exist between them that brought him close to her even now.
But even then she saw the fierceness in his gaze which had her backing away from him until she was stopped by the tree at her back, and she couldn't help but wonder if she had sent Aragorn away too soon. However, as soon as his lips touched hers once again she knew that it was only the strength of his feelings for her that shone through, and she was reminded yet again of how deeply within her soul that she loved him. Just as she knew that the love she shared with Legolas could never compare with this as she was unable to feel the same consuming love and desire that she felt for this human warrior. And it was strange that it had taken the love of another to make her realize how much she loved him.
His lips pulled away from hers to her throat, drawing a tortured groan from her as she was in danger of being consumed by the desire that flowed through her body. "Boromir, come with me," she whispered in his ear as she took his hand in hers and led him through the trees where they ended up in front of her pavilion. She led him through the entrance flaps only to stop short as she saw Elenya standing inside, her amethyst eyes alight with warning. "Elenya, I already know what you are going to say," she began.
"I just don't understand why you would put yourself through this when Legolas has so much to offer you," Elenya argued. "You had just admitted your love for him, how could you do this to him when he loves you so much?"
"Look, I have had it with your meddling with my emotions. You have felt for yourself how much I love Boromir and yet you push me towards someone whom I could never love the same as him," she shot back.
"Maybe I should just leave," Boromir spoke up as he had no idea who this strange elf was and what part she had to play in all this.
Lillisandra grabbed his arm to keep him from leaving. "No, you're not," she answered heatedly. "I'll not be parted from you again as that is what she wishes to happen. Without you here she has a better chance of pressing Legolas' case, just as she has been ever since she emerged from the ring."
"But can you deny the fact that you desired him while in Rivendell?" Elenya returned.
"No, I cannot deny it," she replied. "I was still unsure of whether Boromir was alive, and I now realize that you sensed my feelings towards Legolas and have played upon them since then. I am tired of being manipulated like that as you have cared nothing for my feelings, only that you wish to pair me with someone who was safer for me to be with. And I mean to put an end to the torture you have put me through as a result of it."
"You mean to tell me that you would risk being killed by him just to be with him?" Elenya asked in surprise.
"It's called love, which is something that has been hard for you to comprehend. I did not realize fully what Dairuin had meant by being manipulated by you as I had assumed that it had always been in a strictly battle sense. Little was I aware that you were playing with my emotions so frivolously."
Boromir laid his hands on her shoulders as a gesture of support. "And I believe that we have both been misled to a point. As long as I'm with you, I hear no voices that whisper inside my head like they do at other times. I feel that as long as we are together then you are safe as the voices return when we are apart from one another."
Lillisandra nodded her agreement. "It seems that we both have been victims of a cruel plot to keep us apart, one thinking to keep me alive and the other to try and kill me. But it is as you said, Elenya, love can triumph over evil."
The elf smiled as she realized that they both would make it work through their love for one another. She had thought that she was helping Lillisandra by nudging her in what she had thought was the right direction, but now realized that it could've been her biggest mistake. "Then I wish you both the best of luck," she said as she embraced Lillisandra and kissed her cheek. "You will have no trouble from me from now on." Then she disappeared, leaving them alone.
Boromir sighed as his beloved turned in his arms to lay her head against his chest. "Well, I'm glad that everything's been resolved."
"Not quite yet," she replied. "I still have to speak with Legolas about what has happened."
The flaps opened suddenly and they saw Legolas step inside, his face filled with confusion when he saw them together. "What has happened?" he asked.
*******************
Ahhhhh!!! You Legolas fans are going to kill me now, I know it!!! But Legolas will still play an important part in her life! Don't give up on me now! Please?
