I have become an insomniac… it's like 3:00 in the morning and I'm wide-awake.
I'm watching Godfather! I love this movie! Yeah!
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The fire burned and burned into the endless night. Aragorn sat staring into the flame. First his thoughts lingered around the one he loved, how the past year he was unable to think about anything else, and it slowly trailed away to nothingness. Now his mind was empty and he sat in a daze. The breeze seemed to rustle the leaves in the distance and blow the remainder of the snow about.
It has been hours since the palace was lost from sight. But somehow he felt reluctant to go any further. He wanted to go back, perhaps because he has not yet lost hope, or perhaps the pain was becoming too much to bear. But he knew better than to act on his feelings. With one last look back, he decided to go on.
The palace remained unmoved, but its doors were swung open. In its lonely halls a figure lingered about from room to room. The elven prince clad in silver was now cleansed of his past. His shimmering hair flowed behind him; his blue eyes regained the gleam it had not held since childhood. He had little idea of how long he had been in trance, but it did not matter to him.
"Estel?" He called although he saw no sign of his lover anywhere. "Estel, I'm back." He called out but he saw no one. He walked gracefully into the gardens and glanced around with his keen eyes. There was no trace, not even the shadow of a man.
He walked about his realm all alone till day came when he sat alone on the benches in the garden. 'He is gone then…' A voice spoke in his mind. 'He did not wait for me…' For a moment, he wept in his sadness. The sun was piercing through the clouds and casting a light upon the pure white snow. Legolas looked up and saw that the snow was melting from the trees. The beauty of nature seemed to give him a new hope. He was after all cured of his past poisons. He could leave his realm, for he was no longer bound to its powers.
In this tiny moment of joy, Legolas stood up. He retrieved a bow and a quiver of arrows from the palace. He also picked up a knife from the snow and kept it by his side. What other choice did he have besides to go after the one he cared for? He could not stay anymore.
He wandered away from his realm and down the path. He knew little about the world outside his home and almost nothing about the way to live in the wild. But little did that mean to him, his mind and heart were elsewhere.
During noon he slowed down and rested under the shade of the trees. He noticed that someone seemed to be following him. The elven prince stood up and noticed that there were shadows behind him. He fingered his bow cautiously without turning around. After a few steps he snapped around again. Now he was sure that someone or something was following him.
"Who's there?" He called out as he tightened his grasp on his bow. There came no answer, only the breeze that tossed the snow about. For a few more seconds he stood there, his eyes glancing from side to side. But when no sign of moving came, he dropped his stare.
On he walked with no idea where he was going or where he was going to end up. He only followed the path. By midday he noticed that there were footprints that did not belong to him in the snow. Before he had time to understand everything that was going on, he felt something pierce his left shoulder blade. In surprise he fell back against the snow covered ground and pressed one hand over his wound. He noticed that it was only a dart but the blood that poured from his flesh was a dark color.
In panic, he had forgotten that he no longer had his powers. But when he trailed his fingers down the wound and nothing happened, he was cruelly reminded. A shadow was walking toward him. He quickly lay back and waited, his hand went to the knife at his side. When the shadow drew close to him, he out his knife and slashed toward the figure. The figure, being taken in surprise, had no time to defend itself. The elven prince took the chance and ran for it.
When the ones following him were out of sight, he slowed and breathed heavily. His chest was stabbing in pain and the flesh around the wound was beginning to tint purple.
"Help me…someone…" He muttered, not sure if it was to himself or hoping for someone to hear. "Estel… where are you?" He whispered softly as he slipped toward the ground. At that he passed out in his pain.
When he awoke, he realized that it was already nightfall. He tried to move but his hands were bound behind him. He looked up weakly and saw his captors sitting by a fire. He tried to scream but a dirty piece of cloth was shoved in his mouth. In his weariness, he stayed leaned against the tree, trying to fall away from consciousness again.
"He is awake." Came a voice from the fires. One stood up and came over to him. Legolas turned away as he felt the cold fingers lift his chin. "He is the one. The sorcerer." The figure of a man said firmly. Then he understood, they wanted him because what he was. What he used to be at least. He tried to say that he was not but the gag prevented him.
"Give me the knife…" The one closest to him hissed. A smile spread over the man's face. Legolas struggled to pull away but could not. He closed his eyes hoping to escape the blood but he did not seem to need to. In the next few seconds, it seemed that something was happening before his eyes. The knife lay forgotten on the ground while screams could be heard.
He opened his eyes once more and noticed that another man knelt before him. His captors were either lying motionless or had fled in the excitement. The stranger had a hood over his face. He was not like the others. With a painful smile of relief, he removed the gag from the prince's mouth.
"Estel?" Legolas whispered as he felt his breath drawn back. The cloaked one turned to look at him. The sword slipped from his hands. A relieved and sad smile spread over his face. He quickly cut the prince's bindings free. "Why did you leave me?" Legolas asked quietly as the ranger wrapped his arms around him.
"I thought that you had gone…"Aragorn whispered softly, "I thought that…"
"How long was I gone?" Legolas looked up with his deep blue eyes.
"Six days, but it seemed an eternity …" was the reply. Legolas laid his head upon his love's chest and said nothing more for a moment.
"Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?" Aragorn asked as he loosened his grasp.
"No, not seriously…But if you had not saved me… thank you." Legolas stammered as he pulled away. He straightened himself and picked up his knife. He does not truly understand the happiness he felt just then, just that he liked it.
"What did I say about thanking me? I am more than happy that you are well…"
"No… I owe you my life…"
"You owe me nothing… But what happened the night you left? Tell me the whole story." Aragorn breathed as he stroked the elven prince's cheek. Legolas looked up with a faint smile and shook his head.
"What happened and where I went for the six days is no one's business but my own." Legolas replied, "But I can tell you that I am now cleansed. My life in the sacred palace is over…" At that he smiled again. It was a smile that reached not only his lips but also his eyes and brow.
"Thank heaven and earth. Come, we are not camped far and you need rest." Aragorn smiled back as he grasped the elf's hand. But Legolas stopped and did not move.
"We?" He glared, "Who is we?"
"… Come, I will explain on the way." Aragorn said with a small laugh. Legolas did not seem to find it funny. He folded his arms in doubt still refusing to move.
"Who is we?" He repeated.
"… I ran into an old wanderer. He seemed to be lost. He was actually following me, believe it or not. I agreed to help him find his way out of the woods." Aragorn explained with an awkward look on his face.
"Oh." Legolas looked down as he bit his lip. He remembered he had nowhere left to go. What was going to happen to him next? He knew nothing of living outside his home, and Aragorn no doubt would leave him eventually. He would be alone again, this time in a world full of people.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, not at all." He replied not wanting to burden his troubles on anyone else; he already felt silly.
"Well let us start walking."
They walked in silence. Legolas avoided Aragorn's gaze the best he could. His heart was heavy with worry and his shoulder was beginning to burn again. He had forgotten about the poisoned dart. Yet he thought it better to say nothing. He would fix it when Aragorn fell asleep. They arrived at the fires after a few minutes. A man wearing rags was already asleep by the flame. His brow was heavy and his hair a mess over his face.
They sat down and rested for a moment. "Thank you again…" Legolas said with a soft grin. He tried his best to hide the pain from his gaze.
"Forget it." Aragorn replied. Legolas stared at him curiously as he lit his pipe. The elf had never seen anything like it before. He stared suspiciously for a few seconds.
"What are you doing?" He asked with a frown.
"Its pipe-weed." Aragorn answered.
"What is pipe weed? And why are you lighting it on fire?" Legolas said dimly.
"It… calms you down."
"Oh… like wine?"
"Yes, like wine. You like wine don't you?"
"I do not drink." Legolas added, still frowning. "Not for a few hundred years anyway…" He leaned back against the tree and stared as his companion blew smoke rings.
"It is not that bad… although I do not know if you would like it."
"You are right, I would not." Legolas replied, the thought of having smoke in his mouth made him nauseous.
"Would you like to try?" Aragorn grinned at the look on his face. Legolas shook his head doubtfully.
"It can't be good." He said looking away.
"Try, and you'll find out."
Legolas leaned over and picked up the pipe. He frowned doubtfully but put it to his mouth nonetheless. After a breath he burst out coughing. He looked up in disbelief and handed the pipe back. He put his hand over his mouth as he coughed but as he looked down again he realized that there was blood laced in his fingers. He quickly wiped the blood on his silver sleeve and turned back to Aragorn.
"Guess not." Aragorn added with an amused look on his face.
"How could you enjoy that foul thing?" Legolas said with a scrunched look on his face. Aragorn laughed and slipped his arm around the elf.
"Are you hungry?" He asked as he reached for the leftover rabbit meat. Legolas nodded but looked doubtfully at the meat. He survived mainly on herbs and dried fruits his entire life. Eating meat seemed a strange idea to him. "Do you find food strange as well?" Aragorn teased.
"No, no, of course not." Legolas felt himself turning a shade of violet. He took a bite from the meat and chewed thoughtfully. It was pleasant yet strange to him. But he felt that this was only the first of many things that he would come to understand.
"Well?"
"… It is… nice." He said tilting his head to the side. He took another bite and smiled.
"You know, I was so afraid that…" Aragorn whispered softly as he rubbed the prince's shoulder, "That I was too late, that you were seriously hurt or even…" He paused, as if noticing for the first time the wounds on the elf's shoulder when Legolas winced in pain.
"It is nothing serious." Legolas said quickly as he caught Aragorn's gaze.
"Still… why did you not tell me?"
"It is not serious, I didn't need to." He muttered as he turned away. He pressed a hand over his shoulder as if hoping for the pain to go away. It was not his way to be the one needing help, and he thought it shameful. This is the first time he ever received a real wound for one reason or another. Before, he could just heal himself if anything like this ever happened.
"I still think I should take a look."
"No, I'm fine." Legolas said firmly. His eyes however, were still turned away. Aragorn looked at him with concern for a moment before dropping the subject. He did not want to seem aggressive. But every once in a while he stole a glance for he could not help himself from being worried.
When the night grew colder they both fell asleep. Legolas slept quite uneasily. The stabbing pains in his shoulder made it hard for him to rest and his troubles ran repeatedly through his head. Many times during the night he found himself waking up gasping for breath. But he as he watched Aragorn sleep peacefully beside him, he was able calm himself.
Morning soon shone through the woods in bright sunlight. The elven prince awoke with the breeze in his face. When his eyes focused back in the world he realized that there was a face crouched over him staring into his eyes. "What… what are you doing?" He said in panic as he drew away at the figure nearly sitting on him. He realized that it was the wanderer that was already asleep by the fire the previous night.
"You are pretty."
Legolas glared, not knowing how to respond to such a remark. He only drew even further away from the messily groomed man. "Where is Estel?" He said as he brushed the hair from his eyes.
"He went... wait I know this... He told me but I forgot! Damn! The hell with it… where did he go?" The wanderer started to scratch his head and mutter to himself. Legolas stared at him in amusement although his face did not show. A few seconds later, the stranger looked up with a grin. "He thinks you are pretty too."
The remark would have been taken as an insult if it came out with any different words than those. Legolas frowned, although he had no desire to be called "pretty", it was oddly flattering since...
He had never seen anyone like the stranger before him, the man seemed like something from a storybook. But as that thought crossed his mind, he noticed that the odd man was now sitting beside him.
"Eh? I was right wasn't I?" He said talking to himself, "My son is in love!" The stranger threw up his hands and gripped the elf's wrist. Legolas said nothing. Too many thoughts were running through his mind.
"Son?" He said quietly. This was not the father he had heard about.
"But wait up minute wait a minute old man!" The stranger said again to himself, "Sonny's got a bride back home. He says so! Hmm with pretty bright eyes and dark hair… yes that's what he said…" Legolas felt his eyes widen in disbelief. A bride? He has never been told about a bride.
"Yes but this one is pretty too." The stranger suddenly paused, as if noticing for the first time that Legolas was looking at him. "Don't worry, I like you better. Yes I do, and my son does whatever I say." Legolas turned away; he felt as if he had just been stabbed a thousand times. Why was he not told about this?
'You were foolish to think that you had something in the first place. He only took pity on you… he never told you that he loved you. He did you a favor not letting you die. It was only charity work. Why should he even mention it to you? It is not your concern.' He told himself as he tried to struggle back his emotions. He leaned back in his sadness, not knowing what to think at that moment.
'How could he care for you after the burden you were to him?' He thought to himself as he turned away in tears. He sat there in grief for a few moments and closed his eyes. After a while, Aragorn returned with fresh water. He sat down next to Legolas.
"Is something wrong?"
"You never told me that… that he was your father." Legolas said quietly. His eyes were still turned away.
"He… he isn't." Aragorn said uncomfortably. He glanced over at the odd man, who was now talking to himself again, "You probably noticed, but he is… unstable, mentally. He lost his real son, though I am not sure how. So now he thinks I am his son."
"Unstable?" Legolas repeated blankly.
"He's… crazy if you will."
"Crazy? What is crazy?"
"He has no control over his mind or how he acts sometimes. His mind works… differently than the normal person. But he is harmless, I am sure." Aragorn explained. He noticed that Legolas was very upset. "Hey, don't let anything he says make you uneasy…"
"Estel, do you have a lover back home?" Legolas spoke up and turned his eyes to Aragorn. Aragorn said nothing for a while and just bit his lip. The color seemed to disappear from his face and he looked torn. "Forget it…it is not my concern. I'm sorry." Legolas said softly and stood up. He no longer needed an answer, the expression told him perfectly.