Okay, most of you had guessed correctly! (I love it when you people started to guess what happen next in my stories!!)
WARNING : This chapter contains a CHARACTER DEATH! No, not my death, I can assure you that!
Minutes crept into hours, and the hours crept into days. It had been almost two days now that Legolas lay abed. He never stirred ever since the poisoned blood was purged out of him. His breathing grew fainter, and his heartbeat grew weaker. They were all gathered around him; whispering prayers and healing songs.
By right, Legolas should've been dead by now. It was a miracle that he was still alive. It seemed as if he was not ready to let go… as if he was waiting for something.
Aragorn was holding tight to the dying elf's hand, murmuring consoling words and repeatedly asked for his friend to come back to him. The Rivendell twins sat huddled together on the window seat, closing their eyes as they chanted their own prayers for Legolas's life. Elrond would check on Legolas's condition now and then before returning to the couch by the foot of the bed.
Keldarion and Thranduil were never far from Legolas, silent tears kept flowing down their cheeks. This was their most precious treasure, the baby of the family, who always gave them so much joy…and sometimes pain, but they loved him all the same. Losing Legolas was out of the question, something that they could never imagine even though the prince had had many encounters with near death experience before. But they were totally helpless right now without the healing stone of manya. Legolas was totally depending only on his own inner healing ability, which was evaporating rapidly, like the mist on a hot sunny day.
"Please…don't take him…" Aragorn muttered to no one in particular. "Not Legolas. You don't deserve him. You're not worthy of such a being…"
Suddenly, the twins sat up straighter in their seats. "What's that sound?"
Elrond frowned, already standing up. He'd also heard it, the strange din that was approaching the palace.
"What sound?" Keldarion asked. He, too, got up and followed the Rivendell elves as they went outside onto the balcony. What they saw next was incredibly spectacular, almost unreal.
Hawkeye had returned…with a large battalion of hundreds of eagles following in his wake!
The great and powerful birds flew above the palace, squawking and crying out excitedly. Legolas's pet then came landing onto the balcony rail. Clamped in his beak was a brightly shining stone attached to a silver chain.
It was the stone of Manya.
The elves had no time to feel shock, though. Elrond immediately took the stone and rushed back inside. He grabbed a bowl and filled it with water and dropped the stone inside. As the water turned very translucent blue, he brought it to Legolas's lips, while Thranduil propped his youngest child up. Legolas's head lolled weakly against his father's shoulder as the water was poured down his throat.
Keldarion and the twins were staring at Hawkeye in great wonder. "You had asked your friends' help to search for the stone?"
Hawkeye squawked in reply and stayed perched on the rail, waiting for his master to wake up.
************
Half an hour had passed but Legolas still had not awakened. Now they were getting more frantic. The healing water of the stone should have started to take effect by now.
"Something's wrong! Why are there no changes? When is he going to wake up?" Thranduil cried out in frustration. Elrond shook his head in sorrow; having a hard time to take this all in. This shouldn't be happening! Is the manyan stone already too late?
Keldarion was staring hard at his brother. He was alarmed when he saw Legolas suddenly ceased breathing. "No…" Placing his hand at the side of his brother's neck, he checked for pulse, calling his brother's name desperately, "Legolas! Answer me, please!"
The others quickly gathered around much closer, exclaiming in dismay. Keldarion panicked when he couldn't find Legolas's pulse anymore. He grabbed his brother's limp body into his arms, screaming, "No….No!!!!!"
With tears already streaming down his face, Thranduil wrapped his arms around his two children, sobbing his heart out. Aragorn fell down to his knees beside the bed, shaking his head in disbelief. Elrond placed his hand on top of the young human's head, fighting hard against his own tears. The twins had to turn away because the sight was too overwhelming. It was terribly difficult for them to accept their best friend's death. It was just a simple hunting trip! How did it come to this?
For a while, the chamber was filled with the sound of sobbing and crying. But then…
"Kel…ease up…can't breath…" Legolas's sudden weak voice made them all froze.
"What the…!" Keldarion and Thranduil quickly pulled away. They all stared down at Legolas's opened eyes in amazement. "You're alive!!"
Legolas smiled feebly. "Isn't that…obvious?"
"But you were dead!" Keldarion exclaimed. "Just now, your life just went out of you!"
"Err…does that mean…I'm a ghost now?"
Crying out in joy, Aragorn and the twins simultaneously jumped onto the bed, hugging Legolas like crazy. The recovering Mirkwood prince laughed softly within the arms of his brother and his friends.
Thranduil smiled back at the Elrond, tears of great relief in his eyes. "Miracles do happen, then. By Elbereth, my heart nearly collapsed there!"
"You and me both!" Elrond replied. The two fathers watched in amusement as their children crowded together on the bed, talking and laughing boisterously, hugging one another in happiness.
"Don't do that again!" Keldarion was heard shouting.
"Do what?"
"Play dead! I'll kill you if you do that again!"
"How many lives do you have actually?" One of the twins cried out.
"I don't know and I don't want to find out so please, for crying out loud, stop smothering me! I can barely breathe here!"
They eased up their hold on him and Legolas took a deep breath…and his eyes found Thranduil. The prince blanched. "Oh Lord…too late. I am dead."
Chuckling, the Mirkwood king came forward to hug his son and kissed his golden head. "You will be in a moment. Now, how are you feeling, really?"
"A lot better, I think," Legolas replied. "I'm a little confused, though. What actually happened? All I can remember is flying and swimming and flying again!"
They all laughed at that. Elrond was bending down over Legolas's calf, examining the already healed bite marks before moving on to the prince's other healed wounds. "You died, that's what happened. Then you miraculously returned." The Rivendell lord shook his head. "I, too, wonder how many lives you have. The snakebite had spread all inside you and it could have killed you. But you still held on longer than I expected. You're lucky to have a resourceful friend like Hawkeye, Legolas."
"Hawkeye?"
"Yes. Hawkeye had saves us all. When we were trapped in the bog, he'd called for Gwaihir's help to chase the beasts away. Then Gwaihir and his friends flew us here," Aragorn remarked. "When you lay dying, we already lost hope for we don't have the antitoxin for the venom at hand. Then Hawkeye returned with more help. He had gathered hundreds of his eagle friends and went to search for the manyan stone."
"And they found it." Elrond give the silver chain to Legolas. "I wonder how they did it, but somehow they found it."
Legolas took the stone with trembling fingers, his eyes tearing up. "The manya. I thought I've lost it forever." He looked up. "Where's Hawkeye?"
"Oh, he's right…" Elladan turned and pointed, but the balcony was empty. "…there."
"Where did he go? He was there only a minute ago!" Elrohir went out onto the balcony, looking for the bird. But the great eagle, along with his friends, had disappeared sometime during the whole excitement earlier.
Legolas smiled as he slipped the chain over his neck. "He loves to do that vanishing act now and again. Don't worry, he'll come back to me."
Thranduil cleared his throat. "You are sure you feel all right now, Legolas?"
Legolas nodded. "Believe me, father. I am."
"Good." Thranduil smiled before he turned towards Elrond. "If you don't mind, I would like to have some private moments with my sons." The two Mirkwood brothers stopped smiling instantly, and turned pale. They knew what would be coming next.
His lips twitching in amusement, Elrond quickly herded his sons out of the chamber. The last words that they heard before the door closed were, "…what were the two of you had been thinking??!!!" Then, Tranduil's voice could only be heard in muffled shouts and yells.
When he turned to his own sons, Elrond found them staring back at him nervously. "Now, about the three of you…'
"Are you going to lecture us too?" Aragorn asked uncertainly.
"Why? Do you want one?" His sons shook their heads vehemently. Elrond chuckled. "I think I'll let one father do the talking today. I want the three of you to stay here and do not enter until Thranduil is finished, got that?"
His sons nodded, no objection whatsoever. Still chuckling, Elrond walked away.
**************
The door opened half an hour later. Thranduil was startled to see Elrond's sons fidgeting outside. "I need a drink," the king said shortly before he left. As soon as he vanished from their view, the three brothers raced one another to enter the chamber. The Mirkwood princes looked up at their noisy entrance.
"Whew! That was lengthy! You guys okay?" Elrohir inquired.
Legolas grinned sheepishly. "My ears still ring…but I'll live."
"I feel more like a disobedient child than a noble warrior prince!" Keldarion grimaced in embarrassment. "Grounded? At the age of 3,500? Unbelievable!"
Their friends burst up laughing. Legolas couldn't stop grinning. "Now you know how I feel every time I was grounded."
Keldarion smacked his brother at the back of his head. "Not a word from you, imp! I have this crazy urge to drown you in the pool! You are the one who dragged me into all this mess!"
"Yeah, right! And you followed me like an obedient mule all along!"
"That's it!" Keldarion pounced on his brother. They grappled about on the bed, twisting the bed sheet into disarray and kicking the pillows to the floor. The twins cheered them on, whistling and hollering. But Aragorn was strangely silent, with a thoughtful look on his face. Legolas saw this and he ceased moving. "Estel? Is something the matter?"
Aragorn was very quiet all of a sudden. He just stood there uncertainly, a myriad of emotions flashed in his dark eyes. Elladan took the liberty to explain, "He blames himself for everything."
Legolas's eyes widened. "What?"
"I caused all this to happen, Legolas. If not for me, you won't get hurt," Aragorn muttered.
"Estel…"
"I can't let you or anyone else suffer because of me."
"That's stupid," Legolas pointed out. "I've sworn an oath, remember?" Aragorn opened his mouth to speak but Legolas interrupted him, "I keep my oath, Estel. And so will they. We all will stand together to keep you from any harm or darkness because you are our hope. I would gladly give everything I have for your sake to make sure the future of Middle Earth stays secure."
Aragorn smiled weakly. "You already did, Legolas. You've already given your life…and your soul."
Legolas nodded, staring directly into Aragorn's eyes. "And I will gladly do it again."
Aragorn shook his head. "Still, I feel responsible for all that had happened. You nearly died, Keldarion also got hurt, Elladan and Elrohir nearly froze to death…"
"Actually, you nearly froze to death, not us," Elrohir protested.
"Whatever. The point is, I regretted that all these things happened. I'm very sorry."
The others were silent as they looked at the young human who stood with his head hung low. Then Legolas said softly, "Do you blame the foal if its mother died giving birth to it, Estel?"
Aragorn's eyes widened. "What? Of course not!"
"Would you blame Elrohir if Elladan took an arrow to his heart that was meant for his beloved twin?"
Aragorn glanced at the startled twins. "I guess not."
"You guess?" Elladan asked, rising his eyebrows.
"Fine! I'm sure I won't blame him! But what are you…"
"Would you blame me if you got hurt watching over my back?" Legolas continued.
"All right, all right! I got your point!" Aragorn ran his hand through his disheveled dark hair. "You're so persistent! So bullheaded like an orc!"
Legolas smiled widely. "Human, you ain't seen nothing yet!" With that, the prince grabbed a nearby pillow and hit Aragorn with it. Growling, Aragorn grabbed another pillow and slammed it into Legolas's face in return. Soon after, the others also joined in…
************
At the tea table downstairs, Elrond and Thranduil looked up to the ceiling. They could hear their children's wild laughter echoing throughout the palace. Someone was shrieking while another was yelling. It was loud and boisterous.
Smiling, Elrond remarked, "I believe, the pillow war has just started."
Thranduil shook his head. "I guess I'm not the only one who has pillow problems! There's always shortages of pillow supplies in my realm because of those two!"
Sitting there together, the two elven lords sipped their tea as they listened and enjoyed the happy sound that came drifting from upstairs. Elrond was already planning to ask help from the higher elves of Lothlorien and Mirkwood to join energy in creating spells to shield Aragorn from the dark force's censor. Thranduil, meanwhile, was still amused as he recalled the chagrin expression on his sons' face when he gave them his piece of mind earlier.
Up in the sky above, a lone golden eagle glided in a complete three rounds before he gave a final cry and flew away.
As long as his master still lived, he will returned…
THE END
See? Didn't I promise you a character death just now? I forgot to add that it was a brief one. He! He!
There goes my manyan series number…wait…4 or 5? Whatever! I hope you all like it! And thank you so very much for reviewing! You are great!!
As a tradition, here are the faithful reviewers in alphabetical order: Aurienia; Biohazard; cheryse; Erhothwen; Fairylady; feanen; helms_deep2234; jambaby1963; janet; Kayo; Kirsten; Lady Lenna; Lena; lishmi; Lomelinde; MoonBolt; MoroTheWolfGod; orangeblossom; szhismine; tbiris; ThE iNsAnE oNe; The Wanderer; yeen; Zoya; (No one is left out, I hope.)
Your reviews are wonderful and SO ARE YOU!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!
I've already started "Take My Heart Away" and it might be on board in a week. So stay tuned and keep on smiling!!
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