Disclaimer: All characters from LOTR belong to Tolkien. The eventual other ones are from me ;)

DARK IS THE NIGHT FOR HEARTS
CHAPITRE 3 - THE FALL OF A LIGHT

Aragorn, and Gimli sitting behind him, were riding fast towards the wood from where a thin curling thread was still rising. A discussion relatively long with Eomer, the captain of the group of horsemen, had given them the opoortunity to learn that these horsemen had lead a harsh battle against a relatively important group of orcs, the night before. They had lost many men on the battlefield, and unfortnatelu, they were sure that some of the orcs had managed to escape. The riders had burnt the corpses of the malevolent creatures they had eliminated before leaving the forest in the direction of Theoden.

They had been first surprised to learn about the existence of Hobbits, so far unknown to them, as well as about the existence of elves in the Lothlórien Woods. But Eomer had ensured them that none but orcs' corpses had been found and burnt that night. And this was the first good news of the day for Aragorn. He would be allowed one more, later, before falling into the chasm of despair.

Realising that Aragorn was Isildur's heir and possessed the legendary Sword that was Broken and is forged again, Eomer requested his presence at Minas Tirith to help them against the enemy's troups. Aragorn refused, seeing his task uncomplete as long as he wouldn't find his three missing friends. Eomer accepted to lend him two horses to allow him to finish his mission easily, with the promess to come back to Theoden afterwards.

Gimli, none at ease on these giant animals, clung to Aragorn, trying not to look too much towards the ground. Behind them, the second horse was galopping at the end of a rope. His name was Arod, and he would be for Legolas and the two hobbits once they would be found. Very swift were the horses of Rohan. Behind them, Eomer and his troup were now but vague points at the horizon, but Aragorn's focus was completely absorbed by the reading of the trail. Orcs' traces were still confused with the passages of the horsemen, and this could eventually lead to troubles...

Aragorn slowed down the pace of his mount when they reached the border of the wood and dismounted. He had to follow any independant trail right or left to see if a group of orcs hadn't split from the main group, carrying the two hobbits with them, feeling the threat of an imminent attack to come. They didn't have to walk far to find the place were the orcs had been burnt. The ashes were still hot and smoking. On the side, was a great pile of armors, shields, broken swords, bows and dark arrows. Upon a pike in the middle was the head of a grimacing gobelin. Further up, near the river, they saw an artificial hill and understood that there lied the horsemen of Rohan who fell during the battle.

"I fear", Gimli begun, the first to break the silence since they entered the wood, "that ignoring the existence of the hobbits at the moment of the battle, the horsemen didn't make any difference between our friends and orcs of small size, and now their ashes are mixed to the Orcs'."

"I do not think so", Aragorn started after a moment of deep thought. "Legolas would have come back carrying the ill news if it was the case. I keep hope that if he's not with us at this very moment, it is because he found a fresh trail leading to our safe friends". He was trying to put more conviction and assurance in his voice than he was really feeling.

At that very moment, they both heard a branch break, like under the unease step of someone afraid. Aragorn swiftly turned around, withdrawing Andúril...

And realised that their new "enemies" were nothing but the very Pippin and Merry, looking exhausted, despaired, but alive. Aragorn and Gimli couldn't restrain the shouts of joy to see them safe and finally reunited. Aragorn walked towards the two hobbits to ensure himself that they were no chimery and unhurt. A fast glimpse allowed him to see that at first sight they had nothing but a few contusions. Merry and Pippin fell on their knees with exhaustion.

"We thought the orcs came back", Pippin said with a voice where relief and despair were strangely mixed. Aragorn realised that their eyes were red and swollen, and their face bore an immense sadness. "You are alive and safe now. It is the best new of the day, for we dispaired to find you alive... "

Gimli went on. "We even feared that your bones were now mingled with those of orcs, destroyed bu the geat men of Rohan". His tone was happy, like after a good joke typically dwarvish, but he noticed that the two hobbits didn't seem to share his humor. Something was tormenting them and they couldn't relax. Aragorn mistook thei behavior for worriness about the return of orcs. He raised on his feet. "Worry not, we won't linger here and risk to be found by our enemies in the middle of the woods during the night. We will now take the road towards Minas Tirith as soon as Legolas join us again".

At the mention of this name, despair and guilt seemed to raise on the face of the two hobbits. Aragorn frowned, fearing and suddenly knowing what his two smaller friends were about to say.

"Alas", Pippin started as Merry was passing a hand on his face to hide the tears, "Master Legolas... Orcs split from the main group to hide us from the attackers. Legolas interfered to create a diversion and to allow our escape. Orcs were few and the arrows of the elf were fast and precise; but as he was about to flee with us, other orcs of great size, and the uruk-hai Uglúk among them, interfered; Legolas motioned us to flee while he was creating another diversion, but..." Suddenly Pippin couldn't finish, the not in his throat was too big.

Merry took a deep breath and went on with a shaken voice: "We saw him. We saw Legolas fall under the arrows of an enemy too numerous and too powerful. And we had to flee like cowards in fear that the orcs would catch glimpse of us again. We hid and waited til we recognized your voice in the woods".

For Aragorn and Gimli, the shock was hard to stand. After Gabdalf and Boromir, it was Legolas' turn to fall in battle. "I hate my weakenes!", Pippin hissed. "We ought to follow Elrond's council and return to the Shire. We don't know how to fight, we can't read trails or cast spells. What were we since the beginning of this quest but dead weights to drag and defend? Hadn't we been there, that Boromir and Legolas would still be alive. It is to protect us that Boromir fell, and the story repeated exactely the same way with Legolas!"

Aragorn had his back turned to the hobbits so that none could see the paleness of his face. The loss of Gandalf had been painful for all, as he was a wise man and a friend of long; but with Legolas' death, Aragorn felt like he was loosing more than a brother.

Remembering his impression when he woke up, he slowly raised his head, his back still turned to the hobbits. "When did this happen?" He was trying to speak with a neutral tone, but didn't succeed totally.

"This night", Pippin answered, "very few before dawn, for the nearby brasero was still the only source of light".

"Master Aragorn", Merry started, "we are guilty of what happened. It is our incompetence that caused his death. If you now decide to abandon us to the Wild, I will accept your judgment without protesting..."

Aragorn closed his eyes. Very few before down. Did he really heard Legolas scream his name in his dream? He had woken up with the feeling that something terrible had happened to the elf, probably at the very moment this one was falling under the arrows of the enemy. He passed a hand on his face and took a deep breath. "Legolas fought so that you could be free; you must respect his choice. If you give up now, he sacrified his life for nothing, and I forbid you!!!" He realised his voice had raised too much and was scaring the two young hobbits. He softened and went on: "We now must tend the fallen. We cannot leave him lying like carrion amoung these foul orcs. Lead us to the battle place."

Pippin and Merry took in the other way, the path they used at high speed at dawn. Soon, the four arrived at a new battlefield where corpses of orcs and gobelins were lying here and there. Some had their throat or gut open with a thin blade, but most were pierced with arrows they recognized too well. One of the orcs was pinned to the trunk of a tree by one of Legolas' blades. A vile stench of rotten flesh and dry blood was beginning to saturate the place, but nowhere did they find a trace of Legolas. Had he manage to escape? Neither Pippin none Merry saw him die, they had just seen him pierced with two great black arrows like those which killed Boromir, as, beyond his pain, Legolas was motionning them to flee. No, they didn't see the final assault. They heard it, yes, but suddenly, couldn't fully testify that Legolas was dead. At 99% yes, but not at 100%.

The same thought was floating in Aragorn's and Gimli's minds, they all seem to cling to this thin hope. Until the moment when Gimli shout a despair cry when discovering Legolas' bow, covered of blood and lying on the ground among the orcs' corpses. The bow was intact, the science of the elves was superior and no orc had dare touching it, fearing some hidden magic from their loathed enemies. Aragorn said nothing but kneed near the bow and examined it. He passed a hand on the blood covering it and raise it to his face to identify the smell of the blood. His thin hope vanished like smoke in the wind, as he recognised an elvish odour and not the typical acidity of orcs' blood.

"Alas", Gimli whispered, "why did he go to the battle alone? Why an elf so wise had a reaction so..." He couldn't end his sentence as for him also, a friend - recent and form an enemy race, but friend nonetheless - had just disappeard from the world of light.

"But why did they take his body away?" Pippin asked softly, glancing around to make sure no foul orc would appear to grab them and carry them away again. The wood, so silent around them as they were facing this new death, seemed a new threat.

Aragorn frowned. Orcs were rarely carrying their enemie's bodies. And then... why did that feeling persist? The feeling that Legolas was still in deep danger...

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Here it is! Now you start to know more about what happened to Legolas. I'm sorry it took so long to translate this chapter from french... I didn't have the time and courage to do it before... But now strength came again and more chapters will follow soon :-)

Promised: chapter four will enlight you more about our favorite elf (how that, "there's only one elf in the fellowship anyway"? Baaaah ;-) )

Warning: next chapter might be a little big more... gore, than the previous ones ^^;

I just hope now that there aren't to many mistakes in this text ^^ I'm dying of exhaustion here... :p Eyes are closing without my control... @.@