Disclaimer: I don't own any bit of LotR or it's characters, I'm just borrowing! Lol. No profit is made here either…crap
Thank you guys who reviewed! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!! *Hugs all around again* I'm so glad you guys are reading, and liking, the fic! I hope I'm not going to disappoint you with this chapter! R/R!! Love you guys!
Note: This chapter is verging between good and dull with me, I would like to know what you guys think. Please! I hope it's not too bad.
Warnings: None in particular. Kinda sappy like, but hey, gotta happen somewhere.. :-D
Chapter Three: Sealing Promises..Deadly Eyes
Legolas paused infront of the ordinary door. He took a breath and looked about him. Above the door was a sign reading, Historic Keep, in sterling Elven writing. How many times had he been outside this door? Syla was deemed a historical marker. She was one of the many who recorded the history of the Elves. He assumed she had been busy as of late. She was always busy writing in those massive books with her elegant words and penmanship.
The Prince let out a long sigh; he had faced armies of Orcs and never felt this nervous. What was it she did to him? Gently he placed his hand on the door knob and slowly turned it stepping inside. He opened the door slow enough not to ring the chimes at its corner, but he was not prepared for the chimes of the door closing. It had never done that in the past. He grimaced as it echoed through the large area of books and paintings.
"It is late; may I ask who it is that walks the aisles of the past?"
Legolas barely remembered to reply. He was too busy basking in the sound of her voice to answer her question. He could imagine the way she looked as she said the simple phrase. She probably did not falter in whatever she was doing, be it writing, reading, or searching the upper level books.
Instead of answering like he should have, he replied with, "Yes, it is late. What is a Keeper of the Times doing here as night has fallen?" he said it with a phony accent and a deeper voice. He wasn't quite sure why he wished to deceive her, but he felt it a reflex.
There was a pause, then a laugh so sweet to him, "Ah, I must answer that question often Sir. I am here for I have nothing more to do. Now, would you be so kind as to answer my question?"
Legolas silently went up the flight of stairs into the next level. He glanced around as he heard her speak. His expert tracking skills gave him great advantage and his silent footsteps moved along two aisles, then down on the marble floor.
The Prince caught a glimpse of the person moving swiftly through the aisles of books. "I am looking for someone." He said loud enough for her to hear.
"You will not find them here for I am alone." She replied in a clear voice, though it was beginning to fill with suspicion.
"One is never alone." Legolas said following her shadow. He did not realize he had spoken in his own voice now as he was so focused on finding her. He did, however, realize it was when there was a pause and the shadow stopped for a moment. She then quickly picked up again.
"Once betrayed, one is always alone." She replied and the Elven Prince winced inwardly.
"I was once told me that the past is simply a moment we cannot change, though a moment we learn a lifetime from." He said weaving through the aisles after her.
"That someone was correct…When you cannot change a broken trust, you learn not to trust." Her voice was so dull and plain it hurt for him to hear it. What happened to the smile that was always there? From her voice, he could hear that the stars that gleamed in her eyes were long burned out.
With a renewed determination he skipped an aisle and hurried down the next snatching the figure's forearm before she could turn away. "And what is a life without trust?" He asked softly.
"The same as a life without love." She replied in a whisper, her eyes down and her head turned away from him. "Now release me." She tried to step away but he only tightened his grip.
"I will not let you go again." He said trying to turn her but she refused.
"You let me fall into a thousand pieces, from which I was never rebuilt." She breathed. She took a breath and added, "You hold nothing but a spiritless woman's arm Prince Legolas of Mirkwood."
"I never meant to hurt you." Legolas said gently.
"Well you did." was her only reply still not looking at him.
"I did only wh-"
"What you had to." She finished for him as she suddenly turned her head and looked at him. He was taken aback by the emotion in her eyes, how the light of the candles near gleamed in her hazel eyes. "And I am only doing what I must." With this she jerked out of his relaxing grip and walked away.
"You must run from me?" He questioned in suit.
"If that keeps me from falling again..then yes." She replied.
"I won't-"
"Do not make promises you cannot keep Your Highness, they only wind up as regrets of broken glass." She said moving around the side of a slim but long table opposite of him. "And allow me to offer you advice Prince Legolas, with all due respect of course…Broken glass is sharp and painful, it only takes a moment to become that way. The worst about broken glass is that when you try to pick it up and put it back together it only cuts you on the way."
Legolas stood on the other side of the table, less than an arm's length away, taking in her words. The three long candles between them flickered and reflected in her eyes so full of different things. Silently he noticed how she had changed since he had left.
Her hair once a rich color of white corn that was always flowing idly behind her was now pulled away from her face and it looked to be somewhat curly. Her face was not as soft as it used to be, much tanner. And she was thinner, with no need to be, so her face bones were more defined. Still she was somewhat shorter than he and in the night she was wearing a fair colored cloak over a thin dress of grey.
"You have changed Syla.." he said quietly.
Her eyes moved away from him and she opened the book she had and flipped through its pages with no destination. "So have you.." she murmured quietly.
Silence fell and Legolas did not know what to say to her. It was as if she was waiting from him to trip on a stone and fall flat on his face. He was bound and determined not to have that happen. She would have no reason to throw the Prince of Mirkwood from her work home. "You are a sight for my sore eyes." He told her.
She said nothing until she looked up at him, "And you are still as charming as you used to be..no matter war nor battle."
Legolas smiled slightly and reached toward a fallen lock of hair. At first she just watched his hand but when the tips of his fingers brushed the side of her face as they wisped away the strand back into her hair she relaxed and closed her eyes. He meant to pull away then after the fallen lock was away from her face, but his fingers moved back to her temple and slid down her cheek. Gently he drew to her chin and tilted her head until she looked at him again.
He was shocked when she suddenly turned away. "Syla?"
"No. I am not doing this Legolas. I am not letting myself fall into you again." She said harshly.
"I understand your doubts of me and you have every right to have those doubts but.." he grew tired of her walking away and sped forward turning her back to him. "you must understand that I know what I did. I know how I wronged you, Valar I know I did. Through all the days I was gone, the battles we fought, I could not stop myself from thinking of you. Tell me, did you not think of me as well?"
Syla look at him, truly looked at him this time. Her heart had nearly stopped when she heard his voice. When he touched her face she fought not to turn into that touch. How she wanted to forgive him, how she wanted to believe what he was saying..but, how could she? After all she went through after him, could she simply open her arms again?
Legolas fought not to frown as she did not answer the question. Quietly he said, "You told me, the day I made the largest mistake of my life, that you would always love me..Do you not still kept to that word?"
Syla's stomach turned and her eyes burned wildly. Gently she slid a slender hand to his smooth face caressing his cheek with her thumb lightly. She could tell he tried not to, but he turned into her touch, reaching his own hand to grasp her's.
She barely kept her breathing even as she eased him down closer to her, but as he thought she was going to kiss him, she instead brushed her face to his as she whispered in his ear, "That is a promise you will not let me keep..."
She turned away so quickly that Legolas could not even say anything in return. Slowly he began to realize what, exactly, he had done to her. He had her heart in his hands and he had clenched down as hard as he could. Aragorn was right, he had..was..killing her.
As he heard the door down stairs open and close, the chimes ringing loudly, he let his proud stance slump. A strong hand drew to his eyes and covered them momentarily as if to hide his worst deed.
Instead he saw her face, her eyes, and he heard her voice. She was right, he had betrayed her trust, her love…Gradually the Elf created in stone in his mind that she was not going to hurt because of him..and he also knew that though she hadn't denied it nor said it, she loved him. He could see it in her pained eyes and he wasn't going to let that love go so easily and hurt her more than he already had by giving up.
* * *
Syla did not go home after she left the Keep. Tears she hated so badly streamed down her face only to be roughly brushed away. Honestly she did not even know she had passed her home until she ended up at the forest line. Though she did not stop when she reached the true forest tree line and she entered, listening as the trees whispered.
It was quite some time later that she finally noticed that she was dangerously close to all out sobbing. She stopped her stalk and braced against a large tree. Sliding down the smooth trunk she covered her face with her hands. Alone in the night she cried for pains long past and for the words she had forced herself to say as the clouds above rumbled softly.
Rage began to build in those tears and she screamed out, "Why did you do this?!?!" to no one who could answer. As her words echoed she again buried her face in her hands and muttered quietly, "Why can you not let me love you Legolas?.."
In the midst of her tears she did not notice the eyes watching her and she didn't hear footsteps that were not meant to be heard. She barely felt the air change as someone kneeled infront of her, nor the gentle hand that slid through her hair.
She did, however, open her eyes in her hands as she heard a smooth voice say quietly, "Why will you not let me love you, Ni'Syla Monteridi?"
Slowly Syla lifted her head and her gaze fell to the voice in the dark as the clouds let down a steady drizzle. In the night his features were dimmed, but his eyes shone brightly as she looked at him.
As the water streamed down his handsome face she was screaming at herself to get up and leave back to her home, but another stronger part of her searched into his eyes. She saw the pains of war, wounds of yesterday..ones that were still bleeding today. She saw deep regret laced into those beautiful orbs of blue as she dared to name what underlined it all so strongly. Deeply rooted in his eyes and singing forth she saw the love he so wanted to give.
Salty tears mixed with rain as she abruptly threw her arms around the Prince of Mirkwood.
The rain did not bother Legolas as she held her close. He sighed and looked above in the rain silently thanking the Valar for the gift of her so close to him. He could hear as her fears and pains were seeping down her cheeks and into his neck. Legolas turned his head towards her and kept his firm embrace of her to him.
"I am so sorry Syla..I swear I am..I am so sorry." He murmured.
He couldn't help the stroke of fear that went through him as she pulled away, but it was drowned out when she leaned her forehead to his. "I needed you Legolas. I needed you the day you left..I needed you then more than ever."
The Prince could tell that she was not talking of how he had broken her to pieces, but of something else. "Why? What happened that day?" he asked as her warm hands slid to the base of his neck.
"Ni'Clarin…" she told him quietly.
Legolas frowned at this. The mention of her brother? Oh Valar tell him Ni'Clarin had not…was not..not then! Not that day!
"He was found on his trip to Rivendell.."
The Elven Prince had always wondered why he had not seen or heard of the other male Elf when he had reached Rivendell a day or two after when he was supposed to be there.
"..Orcs had killed him Legolas…and you were not there to keep me above my grief…I was drowning and you were not there.." Her vow to stay strong as she said this to him shattered as her voice broke and the tears renewed themselves.
"But I am here. I am here now Syla, and I swear I will not turn away as I did then." Legolas told her.
Syla closed her eyes and turned her water streamed face away from him. "How can I trust you Legolas?...Why would you even want me baring the scars that I do?"
Without another word she guided his hand to the side of her neck. Legolas abruptly drew back as he felt what was there. His fingers had run along a deep scar just under the joint of her jaw.
"..to keep me above my grief.."
"My words did not lie when I said I was spiritless." She told him as the rain became larger drops instead of a drizzle.
Beyond his horror and question on how she lived past such a wound as the scar told, he turned his gaze to her again. Quietly he realized what she must have thought when he had pulled away so quickly. Gently he slid his hand back to the scar despite the pain that it cause the Prince himself as he murmured, "..Then if your words do not lie..I will breathe the life I ripped away from you…I will love you Syla..I do love you, as I have always loved you, more so now than ever."
Syla looked at him half in amazement and half in pure relief. Slowly, ever slowly, a flame long dead danced into her eyes. Just a small bit, but it was there and Legolas did not ignore it. "..Now the only question is would you love me again in return?" he asked allowing his hand to reach her gentle face again as he kept his other arm wrapped around her.
This time she did not fight him and whispered, "I never stopped loving you Legolas…Prince of Mirkwood."
Legolas did not want to break the spell given to his ears by her voice and he gently ended any further words by brushing his lips to hers. He had intended for it to be a kiss only of timid relief, but the long since time of not hearing her voice, seeing her, or having her in his touch seeped as much into him as it did into her.
As the warm rain continued to fall on the two reunited hearts of love stayed there in that forest, kneeled in the rain soaked leaves and grass giving and taking a kiss to seal a promise of forgiveness and a vow of love.
…Neither knew of the eyes in the distance watching them by a stroke of pure coincidence and luck on the deadly watcher's part. Nor did Aragorn and Arwen see the eyes watching them through the balcony door as they slept. Both deadly eyes were the eyes of many and filled with a thirst for revenge on the King of Man and the Prince of Mirkwood as well as a snoring Dwarf a few rooms away who led in a war that destroyed them.
Now it was their turn to destroy these they watched from the inside out…
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So, what did you think? Sucky, good, decent, really bad? Please tell me! Thanks again for everything guys! And remember, reviews = chapter!
D.Night
P.S. This chapter took so long not because of lack of reviews (cause there wasn't, yay!!!) but because my computer threw a fit..hopefully it won't happen again any time soon.
