Author's Note: There now, the wait wasn't that bad was it? (ducks flying
objects thrown at her) Okay, okay, I'm sorry! But worry not, here's a new
chapter, and I think it's good but whatever, I'm biased. And as for being
such a cruel cliff-hanger author, I will say that I sympathize and hate
cliff-hangers as well, but they're so perfect to end a chapter with! Yeah,
yeah, I know, you could care less. Okay then, hopefully none of you are so
mad that you'll stop reading and I hope you're enjoying the story. And as
always, my name does not resemble Tolkien's in the slightest and I don't
own his brilliance.
Chapter 27
Legolas narrowed his eyes at the dark elf lord. He kept his expression tight and waited for Maeglin to elaborate.
"It seems that we are all at a misunderstanding, and the best we could do was merely wait for you." Maeglin's tone turned mocking, "You of course took a bit longer than I had previously anticipated, but I suppose your unfortunate set-back from the goblins was the fault of it. Perhaps we should be grateful you made it at all, many of my men fell."
Legolas fought the urge to shake his head. He hated it when others spoke in riddles. All he needed was a simple answer.
Maeglin was continuing.
"As it was, we arrived before you did and offered a proposal to your father. He of course refused, yet his word can be overturned by his only living heir, since in death he would be forfeiting his rights as king."
Legolas frowned and the bow wavered in his hands. He did not like where this conversation was going and wanted to merely put an arrow through Maeglin's chest. However instinct that told him it would be futile stilled his hand. He would not be able to kill Maeglin, he was too fast, and before Legolas could react he would give the order to have Thranduil slain.
Maeglin was continuing.
"It is all quite simple. Put down your bow, and surrender your allegiance to me. Your word will be all that we need to proceed with our plans for Mirkwood. If you should also decided to refuse, you and all your people shall die."
As the realization of what the dark elf lord had just said sunk in, a small thread of panic started to unwind in Legolas. It was obvious as to why his own father had refused, he would most certainly rather die than turn over his kingdom and be made a slave. Plus he likely knew as well as Legolas that Maeglin did not have the best of intentions for Mirkwood in his heart.
It was too much to take in, Legolas did not know what to do.
"You shall have to decide quickly of course," Maeglin added. He smiled again, "The fate of all that you know and love is fully within your hands."
As Legolas thought rapidly as to what to do, one small thought entered his mind. How had Maeglin managed to get here before him? He knew that he had been at the front of the contingent and thus not in the attack from the goblins, but Legolas had not taken that much of a roundabout way, at the very most Maeglin should have arrived at the same time Legolas had. For that matter, how had Maeglin known Legolas had been set back by a goblin attack when he had not been there?
Legolas lost touch with his immediate surroundings. He felt as though something in his mind was opening and he began to see several pictures in rapid succession. He saw them entering the southern end of Mirkwood forest, the darkest and most dangerous part of the forest.
He again saw the dark forest that Maeglin had lived in through his single window. He remembered the dark cell he had awoken in. He saw the iron doors, the intricately carved sword used as mere decoration. He thought of Glorfindel, and the legend of the fall of Gondolin, Maeglin was the betrayer.
The full legend of the fall of Gondolin started to unfold in his mind. He began to remember small details he had not been able to before. Small things he had been missing before started to make sense.
Dark elves.....Moriquendi...the refusers.....dark, always dark....standing before him now....dark alliance...Glorfindel.....Gondolin.....Morgoth....fell into shadow.
Legolas' mind shattered.
Everything fell into immediate place.
Maeglin desired Mirkwood so because it was already threatened by shadows and a growing darkness. Maeglin would use that darkness, just as he used it before with the help of Morgoth and a corrupt alliance made with him. He was going to have the kingdom he had so desired many years ago, he was going to rule a kingdom of his own making.
. Legolas lowered his bow.
Maeglin saw the gesture of defeat and opened his mouth to say something with a knowing smile.
Legolas did not give him the chance.
"Tell me Lomion," Legolas began, using the elf lord's Quenyan name. "What do you plan with the people of Lake-town?"
Maeglin blinked.
"The men of Lake-town?" he repeated.
Legolas nodded patiently. "Yes, the men that dwell very near here. What is your plan for them?"
Maeglin's lip curled upward as if he had just caught the wind of something foul before it hastily lowered itself again. "The affairs of the second-born are no concern of mine," the dark elf lord answered as if choosing his words carefully.
Legolas nodded thoughtfully. He was aware that all eyes were on him, even those who had their arrows drawn on his father. He knew that his line of questioning was not of anyone's expectance. Legolas sneaked a peek at his father. He too stared questioningly at Legolas, confusion barely written upon his brow.
Legolas began to speak again. "Yet surely if you intend to restore all of Mirkwood they will be in your path. How else can you complete your plans?"
Maeglin narrowed his eyes at Legolas. He looked as though he wished to leap off of the platform and go straight for the young elf prince, but he kept his posture rigid and his position in tact.
Pulling his head up as he spoke, Maeglin answered, "I am confident that I will be able to restore Mirkwood without any obstacles."
A ghost of a smile pulled at Legolas' lips. That was exactly the answer he wanted. "And if Lake-town proves to be an obstacle," he asked slowly as if very deep in thought, "what then?"
"I do not fear that they will be," Maeglin sounded as though he was speaking through his teeth.
Legolas nodded. "You will expect that they will abandon their land without a struggle."
"If they favor their petty existence," Maeglin answered without hesitation.
There were a few small cries at this answer and Legolas let his glance slide to see elves now heatedly whispering among each other, mostly elves that were of Maeglin's people.
Before Legolas brought his gaze back to Maeglin, he caught sight of Glorfindel. The fair-haired elf was looking straight at Legolas, and he was smiling. His eyes were lit as if from a fire within and he looked as though his body was taut and waiting for some sort of signal. He gave a small nod to the younger elf, and Legolas knew for sure he was on the right path.
Legolas locked his bright eyes back onto the dark ones of the elf lord. "Will it end with Lake-town?" he almost asked in a whisper.
"As I said," Maeglin answered back in a tightly controlled voice, "I will not allow any obstacles to stand in my way."
Legolas cocked an eyebrow. "That is not what you said." Before letting Maeglin say anymore, Legolas widened his stance and turned, taking in the whole room as he spoke, though focusing most of his attention near the front where Maeglin's guards were.
"Has he shared his full plan with any of you? He does not wish to restore Mirkwood, and you know it as well as I do. He will not end here, but will spread over the lands like a plague, using you as his army."
"He promised us a safe realm to ourselves to dwell within, one free of the second-born and the problems of the outside world," one elf spoke up. He was looking up at Meaglin as he spoke, a frown starting to cross his face.
"Then why does he choose one so close to the humans?" Legolas pressed. "It is not a safe realm he is after, but one that is already struggling with the darkness."
Several elves now looked doubtful, but Legolas knew it would take a lot more convincing before he could do anything more drastic. A new idea came to him, he had never heard any of his people call him by the name of Maeglin, even Glorfindel called him Lomion. Perhaps he underestimated the intelligence of his people.
"How can you follow Lomion?" Legolas let a small pause fall before continuing, "Or rather, how can you follow Maeglin, the betrayer of Gondolin? He made a dark alliance before, how can you trust he will not again?"
From the looks that the elves held now, he knew that he had just given them new information. Had they truly not known? It had not once crossed his mind that they did not know of his true identity. He had assumed they were all in on it together, and he had not doubted that until his later conversations with Eirien. This revelation to them clinched the thoughts that had been growing in Legolas' mind and gave him a shred of hope.
Arguing broke out amongst the elves, mostly the Moriquendi. Legolas heard several phrases, most of them containing the words 'Maeglin' and 'dead' and even a few talking about Glorfindel. But Legolas was not paying attention to any of that.
The look in Meaglin's eyes was pure murder. Legolas almost blanched when he returned to the elf lord's gaze, but he kept his resolve. Suddenly dread filled him. Without a shadow of a doubt, he knew that Maeglin knew exactly what he was trying to do. And he would not allow Legolas to do it.
Something in the back of Legolas' mind noticed that Maeglin once again held the small leather pouch he had had when Glorfindel had returned Legolas to the caves. That same part of his mind noted the worry that had appeared in Glorfindel upon seeing the pouch and a sense of danger began to flood through to the rest of Legolas' mind.
Amidst the unraveling of the other elves in the room, Legolas honed in on three things, Maeglin's eyes, his growing smile, and the hand holding the leather pouch. Almost as if an afterthought, Legolas looked a few measures off to the side, to his father who was still standing in his place, letting Legolas play out whatever card he had been holding. King Thranduil did not look particularly worried, in fact he was beginning to catch onto what Legolas was trying to do and thought his son had already accomplished it. The battle was over before it had begun.
But Legolas noticed something else.
His father was standing a few paces away from Maeglin . And everybody else's attention was now elsewhere, no longer paying any attention to the happenings on the platform.
And King Thranduil was too close to the dark elf lord.
With his leg still injured, Legolas would never make it in time.
Legolas began to lift his bow just as Maeglin flicked his wrist and opened the pouch.
He was too close, far too close to his father, even Legolas' arrow would never make it.
Legolas opened his mouth to try to call out a warning, but even that would not come in time. Maeglin was an elf lord, he was too strong, too fast. Legolas felt like a clumsy mortal compared to him, and he saw his actions as if he was moving in slow motion.
Too close, he was too close!
Legolas had the arrow strung and the string taut just as Maeglin got out a handful of whatever was in the bag. All he had to do was reach out and touch Thranduil, and though Legolas had no idea what was in the bag, instinct told him he did not want it to encounter his father.
By the time Legolas had an arrow strung, his father sensed that something was wrong and looked over. Yet even as he tried to step away from the elf beside him, Legolas knew he was too close, he was too late.
Legolas let go of the arrow just as Maeglin's arm extended towards Thranduil. A small look of horror passed through Thranduil's features, he knew what was in the bag.
Legolas' arrow never reached its mark.
Author's Note Part Deux: I know, terrible cliff-hanger! Sorry, but I had to, don't kill me!
.
Chapter 27
Legolas narrowed his eyes at the dark elf lord. He kept his expression tight and waited for Maeglin to elaborate.
"It seems that we are all at a misunderstanding, and the best we could do was merely wait for you." Maeglin's tone turned mocking, "You of course took a bit longer than I had previously anticipated, but I suppose your unfortunate set-back from the goblins was the fault of it. Perhaps we should be grateful you made it at all, many of my men fell."
Legolas fought the urge to shake his head. He hated it when others spoke in riddles. All he needed was a simple answer.
Maeglin was continuing.
"As it was, we arrived before you did and offered a proposal to your father. He of course refused, yet his word can be overturned by his only living heir, since in death he would be forfeiting his rights as king."
Legolas frowned and the bow wavered in his hands. He did not like where this conversation was going and wanted to merely put an arrow through Maeglin's chest. However instinct that told him it would be futile stilled his hand. He would not be able to kill Maeglin, he was too fast, and before Legolas could react he would give the order to have Thranduil slain.
Maeglin was continuing.
"It is all quite simple. Put down your bow, and surrender your allegiance to me. Your word will be all that we need to proceed with our plans for Mirkwood. If you should also decided to refuse, you and all your people shall die."
As the realization of what the dark elf lord had just said sunk in, a small thread of panic started to unwind in Legolas. It was obvious as to why his own father had refused, he would most certainly rather die than turn over his kingdom and be made a slave. Plus he likely knew as well as Legolas that Maeglin did not have the best of intentions for Mirkwood in his heart.
It was too much to take in, Legolas did not know what to do.
"You shall have to decide quickly of course," Maeglin added. He smiled again, "The fate of all that you know and love is fully within your hands."
As Legolas thought rapidly as to what to do, one small thought entered his mind. How had Maeglin managed to get here before him? He knew that he had been at the front of the contingent and thus not in the attack from the goblins, but Legolas had not taken that much of a roundabout way, at the very most Maeglin should have arrived at the same time Legolas had. For that matter, how had Maeglin known Legolas had been set back by a goblin attack when he had not been there?
Legolas lost touch with his immediate surroundings. He felt as though something in his mind was opening and he began to see several pictures in rapid succession. He saw them entering the southern end of Mirkwood forest, the darkest and most dangerous part of the forest.
He again saw the dark forest that Maeglin had lived in through his single window. He remembered the dark cell he had awoken in. He saw the iron doors, the intricately carved sword used as mere decoration. He thought of Glorfindel, and the legend of the fall of Gondolin, Maeglin was the betrayer.
The full legend of the fall of Gondolin started to unfold in his mind. He began to remember small details he had not been able to before. Small things he had been missing before started to make sense.
Dark elves.....Moriquendi...the refusers.....dark, always dark....standing before him now....dark alliance...Glorfindel.....Gondolin.....Morgoth....fell into shadow.
Legolas' mind shattered.
Everything fell into immediate place.
Maeglin desired Mirkwood so because it was already threatened by shadows and a growing darkness. Maeglin would use that darkness, just as he used it before with the help of Morgoth and a corrupt alliance made with him. He was going to have the kingdom he had so desired many years ago, he was going to rule a kingdom of his own making.
. Legolas lowered his bow.
Maeglin saw the gesture of defeat and opened his mouth to say something with a knowing smile.
Legolas did not give him the chance.
"Tell me Lomion," Legolas began, using the elf lord's Quenyan name. "What do you plan with the people of Lake-town?"
Maeglin blinked.
"The men of Lake-town?" he repeated.
Legolas nodded patiently. "Yes, the men that dwell very near here. What is your plan for them?"
Maeglin's lip curled upward as if he had just caught the wind of something foul before it hastily lowered itself again. "The affairs of the second-born are no concern of mine," the dark elf lord answered as if choosing his words carefully.
Legolas nodded thoughtfully. He was aware that all eyes were on him, even those who had their arrows drawn on his father. He knew that his line of questioning was not of anyone's expectance. Legolas sneaked a peek at his father. He too stared questioningly at Legolas, confusion barely written upon his brow.
Legolas began to speak again. "Yet surely if you intend to restore all of Mirkwood they will be in your path. How else can you complete your plans?"
Maeglin narrowed his eyes at Legolas. He looked as though he wished to leap off of the platform and go straight for the young elf prince, but he kept his posture rigid and his position in tact.
Pulling his head up as he spoke, Maeglin answered, "I am confident that I will be able to restore Mirkwood without any obstacles."
A ghost of a smile pulled at Legolas' lips. That was exactly the answer he wanted. "And if Lake-town proves to be an obstacle," he asked slowly as if very deep in thought, "what then?"
"I do not fear that they will be," Maeglin sounded as though he was speaking through his teeth.
Legolas nodded. "You will expect that they will abandon their land without a struggle."
"If they favor their petty existence," Maeglin answered without hesitation.
There were a few small cries at this answer and Legolas let his glance slide to see elves now heatedly whispering among each other, mostly elves that were of Maeglin's people.
Before Legolas brought his gaze back to Maeglin, he caught sight of Glorfindel. The fair-haired elf was looking straight at Legolas, and he was smiling. His eyes were lit as if from a fire within and he looked as though his body was taut and waiting for some sort of signal. He gave a small nod to the younger elf, and Legolas knew for sure he was on the right path.
Legolas locked his bright eyes back onto the dark ones of the elf lord. "Will it end with Lake-town?" he almost asked in a whisper.
"As I said," Maeglin answered back in a tightly controlled voice, "I will not allow any obstacles to stand in my way."
Legolas cocked an eyebrow. "That is not what you said." Before letting Maeglin say anymore, Legolas widened his stance and turned, taking in the whole room as he spoke, though focusing most of his attention near the front where Maeglin's guards were.
"Has he shared his full plan with any of you? He does not wish to restore Mirkwood, and you know it as well as I do. He will not end here, but will spread over the lands like a plague, using you as his army."
"He promised us a safe realm to ourselves to dwell within, one free of the second-born and the problems of the outside world," one elf spoke up. He was looking up at Meaglin as he spoke, a frown starting to cross his face.
"Then why does he choose one so close to the humans?" Legolas pressed. "It is not a safe realm he is after, but one that is already struggling with the darkness."
Several elves now looked doubtful, but Legolas knew it would take a lot more convincing before he could do anything more drastic. A new idea came to him, he had never heard any of his people call him by the name of Maeglin, even Glorfindel called him Lomion. Perhaps he underestimated the intelligence of his people.
"How can you follow Lomion?" Legolas let a small pause fall before continuing, "Or rather, how can you follow Maeglin, the betrayer of Gondolin? He made a dark alliance before, how can you trust he will not again?"
From the looks that the elves held now, he knew that he had just given them new information. Had they truly not known? It had not once crossed his mind that they did not know of his true identity. He had assumed they were all in on it together, and he had not doubted that until his later conversations with Eirien. This revelation to them clinched the thoughts that had been growing in Legolas' mind and gave him a shred of hope.
Arguing broke out amongst the elves, mostly the Moriquendi. Legolas heard several phrases, most of them containing the words 'Maeglin' and 'dead' and even a few talking about Glorfindel. But Legolas was not paying attention to any of that.
The look in Meaglin's eyes was pure murder. Legolas almost blanched when he returned to the elf lord's gaze, but he kept his resolve. Suddenly dread filled him. Without a shadow of a doubt, he knew that Maeglin knew exactly what he was trying to do. And he would not allow Legolas to do it.
Something in the back of Legolas' mind noticed that Maeglin once again held the small leather pouch he had had when Glorfindel had returned Legolas to the caves. That same part of his mind noted the worry that had appeared in Glorfindel upon seeing the pouch and a sense of danger began to flood through to the rest of Legolas' mind.
Amidst the unraveling of the other elves in the room, Legolas honed in on three things, Maeglin's eyes, his growing smile, and the hand holding the leather pouch. Almost as if an afterthought, Legolas looked a few measures off to the side, to his father who was still standing in his place, letting Legolas play out whatever card he had been holding. King Thranduil did not look particularly worried, in fact he was beginning to catch onto what Legolas was trying to do and thought his son had already accomplished it. The battle was over before it had begun.
But Legolas noticed something else.
His father was standing a few paces away from Maeglin . And everybody else's attention was now elsewhere, no longer paying any attention to the happenings on the platform.
And King Thranduil was too close to the dark elf lord.
With his leg still injured, Legolas would never make it in time.
Legolas began to lift his bow just as Maeglin flicked his wrist and opened the pouch.
He was too close, far too close to his father, even Legolas' arrow would never make it.
Legolas opened his mouth to try to call out a warning, but even that would not come in time. Maeglin was an elf lord, he was too strong, too fast. Legolas felt like a clumsy mortal compared to him, and he saw his actions as if he was moving in slow motion.
Too close, he was too close!
Legolas had the arrow strung and the string taut just as Maeglin got out a handful of whatever was in the bag. All he had to do was reach out and touch Thranduil, and though Legolas had no idea what was in the bag, instinct told him he did not want it to encounter his father.
By the time Legolas had an arrow strung, his father sensed that something was wrong and looked over. Yet even as he tried to step away from the elf beside him, Legolas knew he was too close, he was too late.
Legolas let go of the arrow just as Maeglin's arm extended towards Thranduil. A small look of horror passed through Thranduil's features, he knew what was in the bag.
Legolas' arrow never reached its mark.
Author's Note Part Deux: I know, terrible cliff-hanger! Sorry, but I had to, don't kill me!
.