A/N: Two chapters in one day, you lucky things. These last two really go
hand in hand so I thought it best to get this one up too. This might help
those poor confused reviewers who did not understand Aragorn in the last
chapter.
Secrets
As I reached the lake it was not the figure behind me that ruled my thoughts, but the one I had left behind. Aragorn had pleaded to for me not to go, but I was resolved. I had to go for the safety of the fellowship. As soon as I had met his gaze and shaken my head to silence his objections, he quickly took me aside.
"Legolas, you're not going with him, and that's final." I knew I was asking a lot of him to let me go, but his voice held an unwelcome arrogance.
"You may be my lover, but you do not rule me. I shall go where I please." Aragorn did not seem to recognise the importance of the act, not only would I find out more of Boromir and his intentions but also assert myself as more than a cripple. I was no child, and would not be treated as such. The tone of Aragorn's voice changed as he began to plead.
"Please, he tried to hurt you."
"There is no proof of that."
"His nails left marks!"
"He may be unaware of his own strength." I inwardly winced at my words, I knew Boromir was aware of his actions, though I could not tell my lover why I was choosing to let Boromir accompany me. If I did, he would never let me go. However, Aragorn was losing his patience.
"Beloved, I don't want you alone with him. What if he tries anything? With you like this --- " He had realised his mistake and was too cowardly to even finish the sentence. For the first time in this discussion I raised my voice. I too, was impatient; Sam was clearly in need of Aragorn's aid, the other hobbits crowding round him concerned.
"You see me as some child, utterly defenceless. Was it not you yourself who told me not to succumb to this poison? You do not trust me, is that it? What in the world do think Boromir will try?" I feigned ignorance, but continued strongly. "I am over three thousand years old, true I may be blind, but that does not render me completely incompetent. Have you ever considered that Boromir may have been protecting me earlier? That he may have been preventing me from joining you in the depths of the battle. You too have grasped me too tightly in the throws of passion. You too have left marks. Tell me, Aragorn, Son of Arathorn, who are you to judge?"
I knew from the hand that dropped from my shoulder that my work there was done. I turned away rapidly before he could see the tears in my eyes. I had knowingly lied to him, hurt him, something I had never done before. Could this be another effect of the madness that my blindness threatened to cause? Nay, I knew what I was doing; I was protecting the fellowship. My actions here may be the difference between success and failure in the quest to destroy the ring. I had to know Boromir's intentions. I had to know if he was a danger to the rest of the group. I needed to know if the ring had corrupted him. To do that I needed to talk to him. Alone.
A hand startled me on my shoulder, sending my thoughts of earlier fluttering to the ground along with the falling leaves.
"The lake is this way." A low voice rumbled at my left ear. It held a property to it that I could not identify. Boromir then led me carefully to the water. He halted swiftly.
"Will you bathe naked?" There was no way I would do so.
"Nay, I will remain in my underclothes." I could almost hear his disappointment.
"Well then let me help you undress." Before I could react I was pushed hard, my back up against a tree.
"I am quite capable of doing so myself." I began to protest as I felt hands tugging at the ties of my tunic. When it was thrown to the ground along with my undershirt I knew he was not adhering to my wishes. I had long since tried to raise my arms but Boromir pinned me against the tree using his own body.
I had still not fully accepted what Boromir was trying to do, was he was doing even. The whole sequence seemed to be happening in slow motion. Aragorn had told me he felt like this sometimes. A hand started pulling at my leggings my only choice was to shout out. My cry was cut off by a mouth on my own. This was not like kissing Aragorn. This was deep, evasive; he bit at my tongue. He pulled away to focus all of his attention on the leggings I was still wearing.
"Please, Boromir, please stop." To my complete surprise he did, bringing his face up level with my own. I feel the breath against my cheek. As he spoke, his voice broke and faltered. For the first time in many days I heard what I had been desperately looking for. Humanity.
"You do not want this?" It was both a question and a statement. The gravity of the situation finally seemed to hit him.
"God, Legolas, I am so sorry, I, I." He was fighting desperately against the ring. "Did I hurt you?" I almost smiled; feeling a odd sense of pride in him for being able to overcome the lust the ring had planted in his mind. I told myself I would send a message to Lord Elrond and tell him that the strength of men had not failed as completely as he had first thought.
Boromir began to back away, his heavy feet crashing down on the delicate leaves. He was crying. The footsteps became more frequent and faded into the distance. I had been left alone. Instead of gathering and replacing my clothing I slid down onto the ground and cried, I had not so to this degree since my mother died.
It was at that point that I decided; Aragorn need not know. Boromir had proved himself to me. He would not face the judgement of the others. I realised then that I did not know how Aragorn would react. He may even blame himself for 'letting' me go.
No, this was a secret, a secret to be kept.
It may have stayed that way if I had noticed the two pairs of eyes that had observed the whole event from a nearby bush.
If I had listened carefully enough, I may have even made out my very own words.
"How dare he! How dare he try to hurt Legolas like that! Come on, let's go back and warn the others!"
Oh, I don't know Mr Frodo, Sir. This is big, real big. I mean, we weren't meant to see that, this was a secret. Besides if Boromir knew that we'd -- "
"Listen here, Sam. Some secrets are meant to kept, for the good of those around. Though often they cannot remain so for long. "
A/N: Don't forget to review. Drop by tomorrow as the secret comes out!
Secrets
As I reached the lake it was not the figure behind me that ruled my thoughts, but the one I had left behind. Aragorn had pleaded to for me not to go, but I was resolved. I had to go for the safety of the fellowship. As soon as I had met his gaze and shaken my head to silence his objections, he quickly took me aside.
"Legolas, you're not going with him, and that's final." I knew I was asking a lot of him to let me go, but his voice held an unwelcome arrogance.
"You may be my lover, but you do not rule me. I shall go where I please." Aragorn did not seem to recognise the importance of the act, not only would I find out more of Boromir and his intentions but also assert myself as more than a cripple. I was no child, and would not be treated as such. The tone of Aragorn's voice changed as he began to plead.
"Please, he tried to hurt you."
"There is no proof of that."
"His nails left marks!"
"He may be unaware of his own strength." I inwardly winced at my words, I knew Boromir was aware of his actions, though I could not tell my lover why I was choosing to let Boromir accompany me. If I did, he would never let me go. However, Aragorn was losing his patience.
"Beloved, I don't want you alone with him. What if he tries anything? With you like this --- " He had realised his mistake and was too cowardly to even finish the sentence. For the first time in this discussion I raised my voice. I too, was impatient; Sam was clearly in need of Aragorn's aid, the other hobbits crowding round him concerned.
"You see me as some child, utterly defenceless. Was it not you yourself who told me not to succumb to this poison? You do not trust me, is that it? What in the world do think Boromir will try?" I feigned ignorance, but continued strongly. "I am over three thousand years old, true I may be blind, but that does not render me completely incompetent. Have you ever considered that Boromir may have been protecting me earlier? That he may have been preventing me from joining you in the depths of the battle. You too have grasped me too tightly in the throws of passion. You too have left marks. Tell me, Aragorn, Son of Arathorn, who are you to judge?"
I knew from the hand that dropped from my shoulder that my work there was done. I turned away rapidly before he could see the tears in my eyes. I had knowingly lied to him, hurt him, something I had never done before. Could this be another effect of the madness that my blindness threatened to cause? Nay, I knew what I was doing; I was protecting the fellowship. My actions here may be the difference between success and failure in the quest to destroy the ring. I had to know Boromir's intentions. I had to know if he was a danger to the rest of the group. I needed to know if the ring had corrupted him. To do that I needed to talk to him. Alone.
A hand startled me on my shoulder, sending my thoughts of earlier fluttering to the ground along with the falling leaves.
"The lake is this way." A low voice rumbled at my left ear. It held a property to it that I could not identify. Boromir then led me carefully to the water. He halted swiftly.
"Will you bathe naked?" There was no way I would do so.
"Nay, I will remain in my underclothes." I could almost hear his disappointment.
"Well then let me help you undress." Before I could react I was pushed hard, my back up against a tree.
"I am quite capable of doing so myself." I began to protest as I felt hands tugging at the ties of my tunic. When it was thrown to the ground along with my undershirt I knew he was not adhering to my wishes. I had long since tried to raise my arms but Boromir pinned me against the tree using his own body.
I had still not fully accepted what Boromir was trying to do, was he was doing even. The whole sequence seemed to be happening in slow motion. Aragorn had told me he felt like this sometimes. A hand started pulling at my leggings my only choice was to shout out. My cry was cut off by a mouth on my own. This was not like kissing Aragorn. This was deep, evasive; he bit at my tongue. He pulled away to focus all of his attention on the leggings I was still wearing.
"Please, Boromir, please stop." To my complete surprise he did, bringing his face up level with my own. I feel the breath against my cheek. As he spoke, his voice broke and faltered. For the first time in many days I heard what I had been desperately looking for. Humanity.
"You do not want this?" It was both a question and a statement. The gravity of the situation finally seemed to hit him.
"God, Legolas, I am so sorry, I, I." He was fighting desperately against the ring. "Did I hurt you?" I almost smiled; feeling a odd sense of pride in him for being able to overcome the lust the ring had planted in his mind. I told myself I would send a message to Lord Elrond and tell him that the strength of men had not failed as completely as he had first thought.
Boromir began to back away, his heavy feet crashing down on the delicate leaves. He was crying. The footsteps became more frequent and faded into the distance. I had been left alone. Instead of gathering and replacing my clothing I slid down onto the ground and cried, I had not so to this degree since my mother died.
It was at that point that I decided; Aragorn need not know. Boromir had proved himself to me. He would not face the judgement of the others. I realised then that I did not know how Aragorn would react. He may even blame himself for 'letting' me go.
No, this was a secret, a secret to be kept.
It may have stayed that way if I had noticed the two pairs of eyes that had observed the whole event from a nearby bush.
If I had listened carefully enough, I may have even made out my very own words.
"How dare he! How dare he try to hurt Legolas like that! Come on, let's go back and warn the others!"
Oh, I don't know Mr Frodo, Sir. This is big, real big. I mean, we weren't meant to see that, this was a secret. Besides if Boromir knew that we'd -- "
"Listen here, Sam. Some secrets are meant to kept, for the good of those around. Though often they cannot remain so for long. "
A/N: Don't forget to review. Drop by tomorrow as the secret comes out!