AN: MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A PIPPIN NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!!
Okay, I'm over that now. Lookies, there's actually an entire line of Elvish in chapter 10. Be proud of me. Alright, then, well, that chapter seemed a bit take-up-spacey, but something VERY IMPORTANT happened. Yep - Sam now thinks he knows.
It was several hours before the crowds finally dissolved. Through those hours, Sam kept a close watch on Aragorn, just waiting for him to get tired of his playacting by Legolas' side, and leave. To Sam's surprise, it didn't happen. Perhaps he was wrong, he thought to himself. Perhaps it was all as innocent as a tragic love affair that ended in death. It happened often enough in literature. Why not in real life? After all, Aragorn certainly looked the part of the innocent lover, distraught by his partner's untimely death. For hours on end, as crowds watched, he knelt by the blood-soaked elf-corpse's side, holding the hand close to his chest, and murmuring romantic-sounding phrases in Elvish to the body - everything from "Amin mela lle", to "Melamin - wanwa", to "lle il quell salka."
(Everything from "I love you," to "My love - gone", to "You are a bad dancer.")
Well, no one could really understand them. They were too soft for most to hear anyway, and about ninety-nine one hundredths of the Hobbits couldn't speak Elvish anyway - and most of the Hobbits that did know Elvish knew perhaps two lines of it.
Yet, somehow the scene was lacking something. Perhaps it was not obvious to anyone not looking for it, but after watching amongst the crowds for some time after Pippin departed, the watchful Sam began to notice the little things. The look in Aragorn's eyes was not entirely sincere as he murmured 'romantic' lines in Elvish. The way he clutched the elf's hand was just a little harsher than the usual holding of a lover's hand. And the way Pippin had looked at him, and then run... the more he watched, the more he realised that almost nothing here added up to what he had thought before.
As the crowds finally dwindled down to just Aragorn and Sam, the Hobbit decided to just try one last test to make sure he was right. He approached the kneeling man, eyes lowered respectfully. "I am sorry about what happened to Prince Legolas."
He wasn't quite sure what he expected. Maybe Aragorn would quit the act immediately and slink away. Maybe he would pretend not to hear him. Maybe he would dab at his eyes, murmur a goodbye, and slowly leave so he wouldn't have to continue acting. Whatever it was Sam expected to happen, it certainly didn't include looking up at him, sincere blue eyes still filled with tears. There was more sincerity in them than he had seen before, and a flicker of doubt crossed his mind. Then he thought back to Samia's reaction to Merry's death, and compared the two. It was close, but not quite the same. Aragorn was missing something, but he wasn't sure what it was.
"Samwise," the King's voice spoke softly, wavering slightly, and reflecting all the sincerity, and more, that was visible in his eyes. This one word alone was almost enough to convince Sam of Aragorn's innocence, but a feeling in his gut told him to still remain suspicious. "Samwise, have you ever experienced the feeling of losing the one thing that made your life worth living, like the love of your life?"
Sam paused, before saying anything, thinking over his response carefully. If Aragorn was truly less than innocent, there was a chance to catch him out on it. "Legolas was your true love, wasn't he, Aragorn?"
The King looked down at the ground as he replied, and fumbled around in his pockets for a handkerchief. It could mean he's embarrassed, either of his love, or his tears, or it could mean he's lying and has a guilty conscience, Sam decided. "Legolas was the world, and more to me." Aragorn replied, as he slowly raised his gaze again to meet Sam's eye. His gaze was unwavering, and Sam was almost convinced of his innocence - about ninety- nine percent so. But there was still a shimmer of doubt, nagging at him, telling him that Aragorn was a phony and a murderer. He had long since learned to trust his gut instinct, but the seeming evidence that Aragorn was innocent so overpowered his gut feeling. Nonetheless, he stuck to it.
"When was the last time you saw him?" Sam asked gently, not wanting to sound too nosy, or give Aragorn any hints as to what he suspected.
"Last night," Aragorn replied, still wiping the occasional tear from his eye. It was a good thing he was such a good actor. It was fairly easy for him to act so much in love with Legolas, and so distraught by his death. He silently thanked the gods for Sam's question, as it was easy to reply to without relying on lies. He may be a good actor, but he couldn't count on his eyes to one hundred per cent reflect sincerity when he was lying through his teeth. "The last thing he did before he left was... well, Sam, when Frodo left, did he try to leave things on a nice note?"
Sam thought for a moment, before uncertainly nodding. Was Aragorn just trying to change the subject?
The King took a deep, shaky breath. "I believe that is how Legolas wanted to leave things. He is, after all, an elf. I suspect he sensed that something terrible was about to happen and end things on a pleasant note... either that, or he simply wished to prove to me that he truly loved me..." He paused, watching Sam for a moment, then continuing. "He kissed me with more passion than he ever did before." Aragorn kept carefully to the truth, even if he was only telling half of the truth most of the time. After all, before Legolas died, he /did/ kiss Aragorn with more passion than ever before. Of course, it was an attempt to save his life, but Sam didn't have to know that. While Aragorn was speaking of this, Sam looked rather disgusted, but kept watching him carefully, and listening. It was making Aragorn rather uneasy, having Sam constantly watch him, and it was rather off-putting. Both were trying with care to do their task right - Sam, to catch Aragorn out, and Aragorn, to make Sam believe he was innocent, and make the Hobbit go home. "Sam," he continued, still carefully choosing his words so as not to lie about his and Legolas' last encounter. "I won't go into detail about what else happened, so as not to... frighten you, but you get the general idea. I suppose you remember the pleasure of exploring the area under your partner's clothes for the first time..." He was sticking carefully to the truth. The truth about the gruesome murder would frighten Sam if he went into detail about it. And he certainly had 'explored the area under Legolas' clothes'. With the blade of his sword.
Aragorn's story was quite enough for Sam. Convinced, at least in his head, of the man's innocence, Sam simply nodded dumbly, and turned to leave. Before he had a chance to flee, however, Aragorn took a hold of Sam's arm, twisted it, causing the Hobbit to cry out, and harshly whispered in his ear, "I know what you suspect - and I leave you with exactly the same message as Pippin. Tell /anyone/ of your suspicions, and you'll be next. I am merely the elf's distraught ex-lover. I have done nothing since I got here - unless you count to sort of night-time fun one normally shares with a lover." Sam was disgusted by Aragorn's casual talk of such things. Respectable Hobbits like Sam never discussed these things in public. A lot of respectable Hobbits like Sam gave the impression that they were unaware of these things even happened.
Aragorn pushed Sam roughly forwards onto the ground, unsheathing his sword and tossed it at the Hobbit sprawled out on the ground. The blade stuck into the ground, merely inches away from the, now shivering with fear, Hobbit's left ear. "That was a warning." He hissed. "Tell a soul, and you'll end up just like Legolas."
Okay, I'm over that now. Lookies, there's actually an entire line of Elvish in chapter 10. Be proud of me. Alright, then, well, that chapter seemed a bit take-up-spacey, but something VERY IMPORTANT happened. Yep - Sam now thinks he knows.
It was several hours before the crowds finally dissolved. Through those hours, Sam kept a close watch on Aragorn, just waiting for him to get tired of his playacting by Legolas' side, and leave. To Sam's surprise, it didn't happen. Perhaps he was wrong, he thought to himself. Perhaps it was all as innocent as a tragic love affair that ended in death. It happened often enough in literature. Why not in real life? After all, Aragorn certainly looked the part of the innocent lover, distraught by his partner's untimely death. For hours on end, as crowds watched, he knelt by the blood-soaked elf-corpse's side, holding the hand close to his chest, and murmuring romantic-sounding phrases in Elvish to the body - everything from "Amin mela lle", to "Melamin - wanwa", to "lle il quell salka."
(Everything from "I love you," to "My love - gone", to "You are a bad dancer.")
Well, no one could really understand them. They were too soft for most to hear anyway, and about ninety-nine one hundredths of the Hobbits couldn't speak Elvish anyway - and most of the Hobbits that did know Elvish knew perhaps two lines of it.
Yet, somehow the scene was lacking something. Perhaps it was not obvious to anyone not looking for it, but after watching amongst the crowds for some time after Pippin departed, the watchful Sam began to notice the little things. The look in Aragorn's eyes was not entirely sincere as he murmured 'romantic' lines in Elvish. The way he clutched the elf's hand was just a little harsher than the usual holding of a lover's hand. And the way Pippin had looked at him, and then run... the more he watched, the more he realised that almost nothing here added up to what he had thought before.
As the crowds finally dwindled down to just Aragorn and Sam, the Hobbit decided to just try one last test to make sure he was right. He approached the kneeling man, eyes lowered respectfully. "I am sorry about what happened to Prince Legolas."
He wasn't quite sure what he expected. Maybe Aragorn would quit the act immediately and slink away. Maybe he would pretend not to hear him. Maybe he would dab at his eyes, murmur a goodbye, and slowly leave so he wouldn't have to continue acting. Whatever it was Sam expected to happen, it certainly didn't include looking up at him, sincere blue eyes still filled with tears. There was more sincerity in them than he had seen before, and a flicker of doubt crossed his mind. Then he thought back to Samia's reaction to Merry's death, and compared the two. It was close, but not quite the same. Aragorn was missing something, but he wasn't sure what it was.
"Samwise," the King's voice spoke softly, wavering slightly, and reflecting all the sincerity, and more, that was visible in his eyes. This one word alone was almost enough to convince Sam of Aragorn's innocence, but a feeling in his gut told him to still remain suspicious. "Samwise, have you ever experienced the feeling of losing the one thing that made your life worth living, like the love of your life?"
Sam paused, before saying anything, thinking over his response carefully. If Aragorn was truly less than innocent, there was a chance to catch him out on it. "Legolas was your true love, wasn't he, Aragorn?"
The King looked down at the ground as he replied, and fumbled around in his pockets for a handkerchief. It could mean he's embarrassed, either of his love, or his tears, or it could mean he's lying and has a guilty conscience, Sam decided. "Legolas was the world, and more to me." Aragorn replied, as he slowly raised his gaze again to meet Sam's eye. His gaze was unwavering, and Sam was almost convinced of his innocence - about ninety- nine percent so. But there was still a shimmer of doubt, nagging at him, telling him that Aragorn was a phony and a murderer. He had long since learned to trust his gut instinct, but the seeming evidence that Aragorn was innocent so overpowered his gut feeling. Nonetheless, he stuck to it.
"When was the last time you saw him?" Sam asked gently, not wanting to sound too nosy, or give Aragorn any hints as to what he suspected.
"Last night," Aragorn replied, still wiping the occasional tear from his eye. It was a good thing he was such a good actor. It was fairly easy for him to act so much in love with Legolas, and so distraught by his death. He silently thanked the gods for Sam's question, as it was easy to reply to without relying on lies. He may be a good actor, but he couldn't count on his eyes to one hundred per cent reflect sincerity when he was lying through his teeth. "The last thing he did before he left was... well, Sam, when Frodo left, did he try to leave things on a nice note?"
Sam thought for a moment, before uncertainly nodding. Was Aragorn just trying to change the subject?
The King took a deep, shaky breath. "I believe that is how Legolas wanted to leave things. He is, after all, an elf. I suspect he sensed that something terrible was about to happen and end things on a pleasant note... either that, or he simply wished to prove to me that he truly loved me..." He paused, watching Sam for a moment, then continuing. "He kissed me with more passion than he ever did before." Aragorn kept carefully to the truth, even if he was only telling half of the truth most of the time. After all, before Legolas died, he /did/ kiss Aragorn with more passion than ever before. Of course, it was an attempt to save his life, but Sam didn't have to know that. While Aragorn was speaking of this, Sam looked rather disgusted, but kept watching him carefully, and listening. It was making Aragorn rather uneasy, having Sam constantly watch him, and it was rather off-putting. Both were trying with care to do their task right - Sam, to catch Aragorn out, and Aragorn, to make Sam believe he was innocent, and make the Hobbit go home. "Sam," he continued, still carefully choosing his words so as not to lie about his and Legolas' last encounter. "I won't go into detail about what else happened, so as not to... frighten you, but you get the general idea. I suppose you remember the pleasure of exploring the area under your partner's clothes for the first time..." He was sticking carefully to the truth. The truth about the gruesome murder would frighten Sam if he went into detail about it. And he certainly had 'explored the area under Legolas' clothes'. With the blade of his sword.
Aragorn's story was quite enough for Sam. Convinced, at least in his head, of the man's innocence, Sam simply nodded dumbly, and turned to leave. Before he had a chance to flee, however, Aragorn took a hold of Sam's arm, twisted it, causing the Hobbit to cry out, and harshly whispered in his ear, "I know what you suspect - and I leave you with exactly the same message as Pippin. Tell /anyone/ of your suspicions, and you'll be next. I am merely the elf's distraught ex-lover. I have done nothing since I got here - unless you count to sort of night-time fun one normally shares with a lover." Sam was disgusted by Aragorn's casual talk of such things. Respectable Hobbits like Sam never discussed these things in public. A lot of respectable Hobbits like Sam gave the impression that they were unaware of these things even happened.
Aragorn pushed Sam roughly forwards onto the ground, unsheathing his sword and tossed it at the Hobbit sprawled out on the ground. The blade stuck into the ground, merely inches away from the, now shivering with fear, Hobbit's left ear. "That was a warning." He hissed. "Tell a soul, and you'll end up just like Legolas."