Again, I own nothing of this; it belongs to that genius called J.R.R Tolkien. Don't sue me, please.
Once again I would like to thank you guys for the beautiful reviews I got. I finally got the time to write some more and I hope you'll enjoy this little piece I put together.
IF THE LIGHT SHINES ON ME AGAIN
Chapter 7
Farewell
She woke up to a cloudy morning; the pale, cold light filtered thru the windows of the chamber as she stretched lazily in the bed. She turned around and found the warmth of her lover's body, still asleep, and cuddled on to his side. She sighed contently, smelling the strong scent of their recent lovemaking. She smiled and remembered last night events; so much time had passed since she was loved like that, now she felt alive again. Suddenly the body in her arms began to move and groan, untangling of her arms.
"Good morning my King!"
"Hmmm"
"Are you tired, or should I say exhausted?" She asked, with a devious smirk playing in her lips.
At this, Aragorn rubbed his eyes and looked at her for a split second, immediately grabbing her by the waist and pinning her against the bed.
"You made me exhausted, exhausted but happier than any man in this world."
He kissed her sweetly and then jumped off the bed, she whimpered at his sudden absence.
"You are leaving so soon? It is still early you know"
"There is a lot to prepare today. You can stay in bed if you like, you came to sleep very late last night, and as far as I know…you barely slept"
She looked at him sensually and responded "And I was very amazed, and thrilled to find you awake Estel"
By now he was already turning red from her words, but he managed to respond to her.
"I was waiting for you, I needed you so much, SO much."
She closed her eyes and said this words, slowly, pleadingly
"Stay with me a little longer Estel"
He shook his head, as if trying to make her exquisite temptation to disappear; he couldn't resist when she called him Estel, for that was the name she used for their most intimate moments. He pushed the thought aside and continued dressing.
"No, no. I can't, the rangers leave today and I promised Legolas I would be at the hall at sunrise to assist them with the last preparations."
She sighed and covered herself with the silky sheets; she felt chills at the mention of "the mission" and it's implications.
"I understand, go now. But please tell Legolas I want to meet with him at the garden one last time before he goes"
"I will. Now see you later, my love"
…………………………………….
The day went by slowly for Arwen. She spent the whole morning pacing on top of the city walls, contemplating the horizon, meditating on the upcoming times. Legolas was leaving again, and this time there was something else. Last night she had learnt of his yearning for the sea and this made her understand that the time of the definitive departure was close to him. He was to sail soon, probably at the end of the war, and the thought if loosing him forever made her sick with grief. He was the last of the elves left on Middle Earth, and to be stripped of his presence was like being stripped of the whole elven inheritance left in her.
She remembered the time when her father and brothers left to the undying lands; she remembered the sensation of disappearance, for when they were still at Rivendell, she could still feel their presence in her mind and heart, even when she was at Gondor. But when they finally sailed away, all they left behind was absence and emptiness. But Legolas's was still there, he was always there for her, even when he was away, she could feel his light and that comforted her for all the years that followed. Now she imagined having Legolas's presence ripped out of her and couldn't help but to weep in despair.
Occasionally she glanced down at the preparations being made in the city's main square, everything was almost ready and she could feel Legolas trying to talk to her in her mind, but she closed herself to him; she didn't wanted him to know how she was feeling.
Down at the square Legolas tried to contact her once again, nothing; she had rejected him all day and he was puzzled by this behavior, she had never rejected him like that before. He continued strapping his quivers to the horse's saddle when an unexpected visitor interrupted him.
"Legolas"
"Eldarion, it's good to see you here"
The young prince was holding a tall, powerful, and very white steed by the reins.
"I brought your horse"
"You still want to give him to me?"
"I still respect you and love you, now more than ever. I finally understood, and I thank you for the lesson you showed me"
Aragorn, who was very close to the scene, smiled proudly at his son; he was finally reaching the maturity required from him to be a worthy king.
"Take the horse Legolas, I would be insulted if you don't accept such a gift from my son"
"I never intended to refuse it my King. Now come help me prepare him for the trip, I was almost finish with this one and now I need to start all over again. You can help too if you like young prince"
Father and son helped him, and soon the horse and everything else was ready.
"I think I'll call him Antares" Legolas was saying, before being interrupted by a voice in his head.
"I need to see you""So, am I allowed to communicate now".
"Shut up and come, there is few time left for us to talk"
"…All right, now the lady wants to talk"
She immediately broke the contact and he regretted his joke. She was really angry for some reason, and he didn't recall doing anything to deserve such treatment. Confused, he just kept staring at the white walls.
Aragorn noted his silence and understood.
"She is calling you."
Legolas came out of his bewilderment and responded.
"…ah, yes"
"Go to her, there is few time left"
"Yes"
With this he left, racing towards the misty garden. She'd probably be there, that if she were intending to see him at all after the "lady" incident. When he got there, he saw her sitting on the bench like every past afternoon they shared. He started walking towards her, carefully picking in his head the words he was going to say.
"I am sorry"
She turned around and regarded him. He was standing there with a look of confusion and nervousness in his eyes, examining her as if trying to find out if she was mad at him.
"Don't just stand there Legolas, come close"
"So, you are not mad at me?"
She looked at him intently for minute and answered
"How can I be mad at you? I love you"
He was caught off guard by her words and the look in her eyes. She had never said those words to him with that tone of voice. Every time she had said those words it was with a smile and a playful tone in her voice. Now it was different, it was as if it hurt her to say them. He carefully responded
"…And I love you too… very much".
She couldn't control herself anymore; tears started running down her cheeks and she quickly covered her face with her hands, trying to contain a painful sob, and then another.
Legolas ran to her side, holding her and caressing her head. He had never seen her like that before. She leant her head against his chest and kept sobbing, now louder and more painfully. He held her tight and kissed her forehead; raising her face to meet his, he softly started brushing the tears away from her face with the back of his fingers, wondering what could possibly made her feel this way.
"Shhh, shhh, It's all right sweetheart, tell me what happened?"
She pulled herself away from him and again, buried her face between her hands. With a shattered voice she responded.
"You are leaving me"
"Oh, my love, don't cry for me, you know I'll be back; besides I have left before and I have never seen you like this, not once. Why is it different this time?"
She slowly tried to compose herself. The truth was she didn't want him to know about her fear for his departure to the undying lands. It would have been selfish to make him feel bad about it. He had to go, soon and she was not going to delay his trip. She knew the yearning for the sea was stronger than any elf's will, and despite all her pain, she knew about his loneliness and hoped he could finally find love in the undying lands.
"It is not different, forgive me for this; I should not behave like this in front of you now."
"It worries me to see you like this"
"I know; again please forgive me, It's just that I am going to miss you very much, you gave me much joy in this visit"
"I know, you gave me joy too. And don't worry, I leave you in good care, Aragorn will keep you company Right?"
She remembered last night and couldn't help but to smile, Aragorn had made her forget about her sorrows.
"Right"
Legolas smiled knowingly and a slight shade of pink colored the tip of his ears. Softly he remarked
"You had quite a night last night hey?"
She weighted the words for a minute, trying to decipher what he meant; then she finally understood. With her eyes big as plates she shifted in her seat and began to breath uneasily
"What do you mean? How do you know?"
"Well, as you know my chambers are very close to yours. And I don't know if you realize or remember that we elves have very enhanced senses"
At this point she started to turn red, a very bright shade of red.
"Oh dear, I tried not to make noise, I can't believe you heard us"
"Well…when I said senses, I didn't refer only to my hearing…"
"No?… Then, you mean?… Ai!
He started laughing nervously, now his face was very red too.
"Yes" He managed to say.
They both knew what they were talking about now. It turns to be that male elves have a sense for females "in heat", and last night Arwen's state was very evident to a very disturbed Legolas.
"Oh my!, this is very awkward, I am so sorry Legolas"
"You know, this is so awkward that it is actually funny"
Now he was actually laughing. She stared at him, totally bewildered by his behavior.
"Funny?!! How on middle earth do you find this funny?"
He couldn't talk anymore; a burst of laughter wouldn't let him.
"Stop laughing! It is not funny!! Legolas!!
She couldn't help it; the whole situation somehow was amusing and hilarious. She too started, first giggling and then laughing until tears came out of her eyes.
"Ha, ha, What did you do?"
"I came out here, to this garden. I had to get away, if you know what I mean."
"Haa, ha, mha, mha."
" I needed some...fresh air"
"HAA, HAA, HEE, hEEE!!!"
"All right, that's enough"
"HAAA, HAAA, HEEE, HEEE, OHHH, AHHHHAAAA"
"Arwen! Enough! It's not that funny"
She threw her arms around his neck, knocking both of them out of the bench and on to the grass, where they both rolled, struggling to get on top like they did when they were kids. Like in old times he let her have the upper hand, and so she sat on his chest triumphantly, pinning down his shoulders with her knees and his hands with hers. He looked up at her, surprised by her boldness, and with his best puppy eyes and hurt pretend voice he said,
"Aii! You are hurting me"
She just pressed harder to the ground and smirked at him.
"Oh, poor baby! Do you want me to call your mommy?"
He raised and bent his legs behind her securing his feet under her armpits, pushing hard with his legs he launched her backwards to the ground, were she landed unceremoniously on her royal buttocks. Startled she stood up, intending to charge again, but he was already up and en guard. So she decided otherwise and simply walked to the bench and sat heavily. He followed shortly afterwards and sat too.
"You are very strong and bendy, even for an elf"
"Well, I try to do my best my lovely but kind of wild lady"
"HA!…Thank you, Legolas"
"What ever for?"
"Well, because no matter how sad and depressed I am, you always manage to cheer me up and make me laugh"
"It is my duty and my pleasure to make you happy, no matter how aggressive and brutal you get"
"Oh stop!"
"I pity the man called Aragorn, who has to deal with the physical challenge of taming you every night, now I have a mental and a visual image of such burden he has to put up with"
"LEGOLAS!!"
She was just about to start yet another violence display when they were both interrupted by the loud and clear sound of trumpets. Legolas stared at the sun and realized.
"It is time to go now"
All the laughs and smiles vanished and they were overwhelmed with grief again.
"Hold me once more before you leave"
He held her softly and sweetly, planting butterfly kisses on her forehead. She just pressed herself against him.
"Come back soon"
"As soon as possible, I promise"
They parted and Legolas looked at her as he walked, backwards towards the square, as if trying to engrave her image in his eyes and mind. He finally turned around, and started to run leaving her behind, yet again.
"Namarie"……………………………………………….
He entered the square, everything was set and ready to go, Aragorn stood on the center of the crowd, giving last instructions to the rangers. He noticed his friend coming, so he walked to meet him.
"How is she?"
"A little sad, I think you have spoiled her too much, but she will be fine; after all you are staying with her"
"You know Legolas, you don't have to go now. Why don't you wait till tomorrow at sunrise? I am still not comfortable with the idea of crossing the deserted lands in the middle of the night."
"Ah, ah. No, you know I want to reach the Death Valley by sunrise of the third day, there we will camp before continuing."
"Very well then, here is your horse"
"Take care old friend, make Gondor powerful and prosper again while we pursue peace"
"And you, don't you get killed or anything, you know you are waited for"
They embraced tightly, tears in their eyes. Aragorn lifted legolas off the ground and patted his back. When they finally parted Aragorn kissed his forehead and regarded him, a sad smile in his face.
"You are getting heavy my dear elf"
Legolas knew what he meant, he wasn't getting heavy, Aragorn was getting old.
"Yet you can still carry me"
He smiled and helped him up the horse.
"I guess you are right. Now Godspeed my friend, and remember to stay in contact, I want messages as often as possible"
"Indeed my King"
At that moment Eldarion approached them and bowed in front of the elf, a hand on his chest; as a sign of respect and appreciation to his much admired general.
"May you be rewarded with great victories, and may your name live forever as a glorious part of the history of this country"
Legolas bowed his head slightly and laughed, amused at such a ceremonious gesture.
"Train hard young man and get ready; for I will be glad to have your sword besides me in future battles, and I'll be proud to be your soldier the moment you are ready to take my place as High General of the White Army."
Eldarion smiled proud at these words, and then left, he wanted to be at the Tower of Echtelion at the moment they left the gates.
The group finished their goodbyes to families and friends and began the march, Legolas at the head of the column. They knew not what to expect from this mission, if they were to survive or die, but they knew something, they couldn't fail, there was no place for fear or mistake now.
Darkness already covered Gondor when they left the gates and soon enough they were out of sight, for they traveled without torches or any light that could reveal their presence. And so, in silence, they journeyed into the darkness of the night and the unknown.
………………………………………………………………………..
Well, yet another one is finish. Hope you liked it.
Remember to review.