Being an elf, Legolas had the capability to stay awake and alert, but allow
his body to rest. He didn't use this ability often, but while he was with
Ereht, he found it necessary. Ereht's wound may have been healed, but he
was still weak, and Relaen's attitude towards him didn't help much.
The moon was high in the sky and they were still in the Shire. They hardly moved yesterday and today didn't go much faster. At this rate, it would take them two months to get back to Mirkwood, but maybe that was best. It would give Relaen some time to cool so she wouldn't kill the two of them once they returned.
Using the same ability that Legolas has, Liera and Relaen made very few stops on their trek home. It had been two days and they were already at the top of the Misty Mountains. Liera looked over the land that lay east, where they were facing. Mirkwood could be seen clearly and the Lone Mountain stood just past it. In a few days, they would be home.
Relaen looked behind them, to the west. A small pillar of smoke could barely be seen just inside the border or the Shire. She took a deep breath and wiped away a stray tear before turning east again.
Liera smiled. "Don't worry. It won't be long till we're back at home with your dad and causing trouble for the guards."
Relaen smiled. "I hope so." She said before walking down the mountain.
It took the girls a full week to get back home to the palace. Relaen walked in and went straight to her room, not talking to anybody. Liera sat down with a very confused Thranduil and began telling the tale of their trip.
"Do you think she is depressed or angry?" he asked Liera after hearing the complete story.
Liera shrugged. "She is feeling betrayed. I think Ereht hurt her more than anyone else by this. It almost feels like, if he comes back, she'll kill him but if he doesn't, she'll die from heartache." At this thought, Liera met the king's eyes. "You don't think she will.do you?"
Thranduil sighed. "I hope not. How far behind you do you think Legolas and Ereht are?" he asked.
"I don't know. They are moving slowly. I think Ereht is dreading coming here. I want to send out one of the ravens to give a message to Legolas about how Relaen is acting. Hopefully it will encourage them to hurry." Liera answered.
Thranduil nodded and stood. "Compose a letter and send out a raven. I am going to try to talk to Relaen." He said. Liera nodded and left the room as Thranduil headed towards Relaen's room.
It had been a week and they had just reached the base of the Misty Mountains. Legolas was becoming restless. He wanted to see his father. He wanted to see his home. He wanted to see Liera. He looked over to Ereht, assuming he was asleep, since he was turned away from the fire and looked up the mountain, longing to see the treetops of Mirkwood.
Ereht lay with his back to Legolas and the fire, but he didn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he could see the look of pain and betrayal on Relaen's face from when he first announced the trap. He could hear the cold tone in her voice. 'Why am I even going with Legolas?' He thought to himself, wiping an escaped tear from his eyes. 'I should have died with my brother.' He thought miserably.
The next morning, Ereht woke up and found Legolas sitting on a rock, a letter in hand and a raven on his head. The color was slightly drawn from his face and he looked shocked. Ereht laughed at the sight before walking over and breaking Legolas of his current state. "Legolas, what is it? Are you aware that a bird is nesting in your hair?" Legolas did nothing but hand the letter to Ereht.
'Legolas, This is not a fun letter to write. I need you to hurry. Relaen has locked herself in her room and won't even talk to your father! We both agree that if she isn't brought out of her little depression soon.well.we aren't sure how long elves last while depressed. Your father and I both think that if Ereht is here, it will help her. Please, come as quickly as you can, we are all worried. Love,
Liera'
Ereht let the letter fall from his hands. His face became paler than usual. He looked at Legolas, ignoring the comical raven that was still perched on his head. "You don't think she will really.die.do you?" he asked with difficulty.
Legolas stood and got the raven off of his head and whispered to it. Once he had finished, the raven flew over the mountain. "We have to hurry." He said, looking at Ereht. "Liera is going to continue sending me updates, but we can't keep stopping. We have to walk through the night, can you do it?"
Ereht nodded, a determined look on his face. "Sorry I've been dragging you down. We should have been there a while ago. Let's hurry."
Another week passed. Relaen didn't leave her room and she wouldn't let anyone in to see her. Liera eagerly watched the horizon and kept in contact through the raven. Thranduil tried to talk to his daughter, in vane. The elves of Mirkwood spoke amongst themselves, spreading rumors and ideas as to what was going on.
Legolas and Ereht came as quickly as they could. It took them four days to reach the palace. Legolas ran straight to Liera, who was in one of the trees acting as look out. He climbed up the tree and wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Did you miss me?" he asked, his voice a whisper.
Liera turned and smiled. " I did. Did you bring Ereht?" she asked, trying to look behind Legolas to see him.
Legolas laughed. "You have a way of ruining moods, don't you?" Liera rolled her eyes. "Ereht is in the palace, speaking with father and then he will try to talk to Re."
Liera rested her head on Legolas's shoulder. "Do you think she'll be alright?"
Legolas tightened his arms around her and kissed her head. "I hope so. I lost my mom, I don't want to loose my sister too."
Ereht knocked on the door that Thranduil had told him was Relaen's room. He waited for a few moments, but when no answer came, he opened it a crack. "Relaen?" he said, his voice cracking.
"Go away." A voice said from the far corner of the room.
Ereht opened the door more. The room was dark. The only light was what was escaping from the open doorway. Ereht opened it more until the light fell on what he assumed was Relaen. In the far corner of the room, a body was sitting in the corner with their knees brought up to their chest and their head down. Blonde, unkempt hair lay loosely down the elf's back. Ereht walked over and kneeled in front of the elf. "Relaen?" he asked again.
Relaen lifted her head. Her normally bright blue eyes were dull and their glow gone. Her face was red, as if she had been crying. She looked at Ereht and rolled her eyes. "You are not who I wanted to see." She said as she put her head back down.
"I need to talk to you, Re, please listen." He said in a pleading tone. He put a hand on Relaen's knee. "Please."
Relaen lifted her head and met Ereht's eyes. "Fine. Talk." She said, keeping her voice cold.
Ereht sighed. "I am sorry for everything I did. I came here knowing that I was leading you to your death, but something went horribly wrong in my plan. I began to like you guys.especially you. I mean, by the time we reached Rivendell, I felt like.I dunno.like I was where I belonged, with you."
Relaen fought back her tears. "Then why did you continue to lead us to your brothers when you knew they were going to try to kill us?" she asked bitterly.
"I had to choose and I was always taught that White Elves would lie to me and betray me, so I figured it would be better to betray you before you did me. It took me until Hobbiton to realize how wrong I was. By that time, I was afraid to tell you everything. I thought that if I told you, then I was afraid that you guys would never speak to me again and my brothers would disown me for not bringing Legolas. I panicked."
Relaen stood and began pacing her room. "Why did you think we would blow you off like that?! We cared about you! I cared about you!" she exclaimed.
Ereht put his head down, shame filling him. "I know and I don't know what else to say. I am so sorry that I betrayed you like that! I should have told you and I was an idiot! There is only one thing I am not sorry for." He said. He stood and walked to where Relaen was and took her hand. "I'm not sorry I got to know you. I'm not sorry I met you. I'm not sorry about anything involving you. I care more about you than I do anything else. Now if you still hate me, then I'll leave you and your family alone forever."
Relaen looked into Ereht's eyes. "No." she said simply.
Ereht put his head down sadly. "I understand. Again, I'm sorry." He said. He walked to the door and out to the woods.
Relaen sat on her bed and put her head in her hands. She didn't notice another person enter. She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"What happened?" a comforting voice asked. It was Thranduil. He sat next to Relaen and let her lean on him.
"He apologized and explained and apologized and I told him to leave." She said sadly.
"Why did you tell him to leave? He apologized and meant it. Legolas and Liera have both said that they have never seen you happier than when you were with him." Her father said.
"He lied to me and tried to assist in the death of my brother, your son!" Relaen said, surprised that her father was taking Ereht's side.
"And he apologized and saved Legolas's life." Thranduil said in a soothing tone. "I want you happy. If the only thing that will get you out of this slump is that elf, then I want him here. I lost your mother because of his family and I don't want to loose you because of it as well."
Relaen smiled and hugged her father. "Thanks dad." She said. She ran down the corridor and out to the forest. Being the clutz she is, she wasn't paying attention to where she was going and ran into an elf.
"Sorry about that." The elf mumbled. It was Ereht. Relaen smiled and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry. I was acting like an idiot." She said.
Ereht stood there for a moment, shocked at what was going on. He finally came to his senses and put his arms around Relaen. "You don't need to apologize. You have no reason to."
Relaen smiled and pushed a stray hair out of his face. "Don't tell me that or I'll never apologize, even when I need to." She said. Before Ereht could respond, she leaned in and kissed him.
Legolas and Liera watched all that happened from the tree. Legolas sighed. "I'm glad they made up." He said.
"Yeah. It's good to see them together again." Liera agreed.
"Do you remember when we were like that? Fight and then make up all the time?" Legolas asked.
Liera looked him over. "Used to be? I think we still have our share of fights." She said.
Legolas laughed. "No we don't, we never fight."
"Yes we do."
"No we don't."
"Yes we do!"
"No we don't!"
Liera crossed her arms and walked over to Legolas. Before she could do anything, he wrapped his arms around her. "And now we make up." He said with a smirk before kissing her.
Liera pulled away when she heard two horses galloping through the woods. "Those aren't our horses." She said. They looked down as Gandalf and Elrond appeared from the brush, interrupting Ereht and Relaen's 'make up' session.
They jumped from the tree and greeted the two.
"What brings you here, Mithrandir, Elrond?" Relaen asked, leaning her head on Ereht's shoulder.
"We have good news." Gandalf said.
"Yes, we found a way for you guys to visit the other world." Elrond cut in.
The moon was high in the sky and they were still in the Shire. They hardly moved yesterday and today didn't go much faster. At this rate, it would take them two months to get back to Mirkwood, but maybe that was best. It would give Relaen some time to cool so she wouldn't kill the two of them once they returned.
Using the same ability that Legolas has, Liera and Relaen made very few stops on their trek home. It had been two days and they were already at the top of the Misty Mountains. Liera looked over the land that lay east, where they were facing. Mirkwood could be seen clearly and the Lone Mountain stood just past it. In a few days, they would be home.
Relaen looked behind them, to the west. A small pillar of smoke could barely be seen just inside the border or the Shire. She took a deep breath and wiped away a stray tear before turning east again.
Liera smiled. "Don't worry. It won't be long till we're back at home with your dad and causing trouble for the guards."
Relaen smiled. "I hope so." She said before walking down the mountain.
It took the girls a full week to get back home to the palace. Relaen walked in and went straight to her room, not talking to anybody. Liera sat down with a very confused Thranduil and began telling the tale of their trip.
"Do you think she is depressed or angry?" he asked Liera after hearing the complete story.
Liera shrugged. "She is feeling betrayed. I think Ereht hurt her more than anyone else by this. It almost feels like, if he comes back, she'll kill him but if he doesn't, she'll die from heartache." At this thought, Liera met the king's eyes. "You don't think she will.do you?"
Thranduil sighed. "I hope not. How far behind you do you think Legolas and Ereht are?" he asked.
"I don't know. They are moving slowly. I think Ereht is dreading coming here. I want to send out one of the ravens to give a message to Legolas about how Relaen is acting. Hopefully it will encourage them to hurry." Liera answered.
Thranduil nodded and stood. "Compose a letter and send out a raven. I am going to try to talk to Relaen." He said. Liera nodded and left the room as Thranduil headed towards Relaen's room.
It had been a week and they had just reached the base of the Misty Mountains. Legolas was becoming restless. He wanted to see his father. He wanted to see his home. He wanted to see Liera. He looked over to Ereht, assuming he was asleep, since he was turned away from the fire and looked up the mountain, longing to see the treetops of Mirkwood.
Ereht lay with his back to Legolas and the fire, but he didn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he could see the look of pain and betrayal on Relaen's face from when he first announced the trap. He could hear the cold tone in her voice. 'Why am I even going with Legolas?' He thought to himself, wiping an escaped tear from his eyes. 'I should have died with my brother.' He thought miserably.
The next morning, Ereht woke up and found Legolas sitting on a rock, a letter in hand and a raven on his head. The color was slightly drawn from his face and he looked shocked. Ereht laughed at the sight before walking over and breaking Legolas of his current state. "Legolas, what is it? Are you aware that a bird is nesting in your hair?" Legolas did nothing but hand the letter to Ereht.
'Legolas, This is not a fun letter to write. I need you to hurry. Relaen has locked herself in her room and won't even talk to your father! We both agree that if she isn't brought out of her little depression soon.well.we aren't sure how long elves last while depressed. Your father and I both think that if Ereht is here, it will help her. Please, come as quickly as you can, we are all worried. Love,
Liera'
Ereht let the letter fall from his hands. His face became paler than usual. He looked at Legolas, ignoring the comical raven that was still perched on his head. "You don't think she will really.die.do you?" he asked with difficulty.
Legolas stood and got the raven off of his head and whispered to it. Once he had finished, the raven flew over the mountain. "We have to hurry." He said, looking at Ereht. "Liera is going to continue sending me updates, but we can't keep stopping. We have to walk through the night, can you do it?"
Ereht nodded, a determined look on his face. "Sorry I've been dragging you down. We should have been there a while ago. Let's hurry."
Another week passed. Relaen didn't leave her room and she wouldn't let anyone in to see her. Liera eagerly watched the horizon and kept in contact through the raven. Thranduil tried to talk to his daughter, in vane. The elves of Mirkwood spoke amongst themselves, spreading rumors and ideas as to what was going on.
Legolas and Ereht came as quickly as they could. It took them four days to reach the palace. Legolas ran straight to Liera, who was in one of the trees acting as look out. He climbed up the tree and wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Did you miss me?" he asked, his voice a whisper.
Liera turned and smiled. " I did. Did you bring Ereht?" she asked, trying to look behind Legolas to see him.
Legolas laughed. "You have a way of ruining moods, don't you?" Liera rolled her eyes. "Ereht is in the palace, speaking with father and then he will try to talk to Re."
Liera rested her head on Legolas's shoulder. "Do you think she'll be alright?"
Legolas tightened his arms around her and kissed her head. "I hope so. I lost my mom, I don't want to loose my sister too."
Ereht knocked on the door that Thranduil had told him was Relaen's room. He waited for a few moments, but when no answer came, he opened it a crack. "Relaen?" he said, his voice cracking.
"Go away." A voice said from the far corner of the room.
Ereht opened the door more. The room was dark. The only light was what was escaping from the open doorway. Ereht opened it more until the light fell on what he assumed was Relaen. In the far corner of the room, a body was sitting in the corner with their knees brought up to their chest and their head down. Blonde, unkempt hair lay loosely down the elf's back. Ereht walked over and kneeled in front of the elf. "Relaen?" he asked again.
Relaen lifted her head. Her normally bright blue eyes were dull and their glow gone. Her face was red, as if she had been crying. She looked at Ereht and rolled her eyes. "You are not who I wanted to see." She said as she put her head back down.
"I need to talk to you, Re, please listen." He said in a pleading tone. He put a hand on Relaen's knee. "Please."
Relaen lifted her head and met Ereht's eyes. "Fine. Talk." She said, keeping her voice cold.
Ereht sighed. "I am sorry for everything I did. I came here knowing that I was leading you to your death, but something went horribly wrong in my plan. I began to like you guys.especially you. I mean, by the time we reached Rivendell, I felt like.I dunno.like I was where I belonged, with you."
Relaen fought back her tears. "Then why did you continue to lead us to your brothers when you knew they were going to try to kill us?" she asked bitterly.
"I had to choose and I was always taught that White Elves would lie to me and betray me, so I figured it would be better to betray you before you did me. It took me until Hobbiton to realize how wrong I was. By that time, I was afraid to tell you everything. I thought that if I told you, then I was afraid that you guys would never speak to me again and my brothers would disown me for not bringing Legolas. I panicked."
Relaen stood and began pacing her room. "Why did you think we would blow you off like that?! We cared about you! I cared about you!" she exclaimed.
Ereht put his head down, shame filling him. "I know and I don't know what else to say. I am so sorry that I betrayed you like that! I should have told you and I was an idiot! There is only one thing I am not sorry for." He said. He stood and walked to where Relaen was and took her hand. "I'm not sorry I got to know you. I'm not sorry I met you. I'm not sorry about anything involving you. I care more about you than I do anything else. Now if you still hate me, then I'll leave you and your family alone forever."
Relaen looked into Ereht's eyes. "No." she said simply.
Ereht put his head down sadly. "I understand. Again, I'm sorry." He said. He walked to the door and out to the woods.
Relaen sat on her bed and put her head in her hands. She didn't notice another person enter. She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"What happened?" a comforting voice asked. It was Thranduil. He sat next to Relaen and let her lean on him.
"He apologized and explained and apologized and I told him to leave." She said sadly.
"Why did you tell him to leave? He apologized and meant it. Legolas and Liera have both said that they have never seen you happier than when you were with him." Her father said.
"He lied to me and tried to assist in the death of my brother, your son!" Relaen said, surprised that her father was taking Ereht's side.
"And he apologized and saved Legolas's life." Thranduil said in a soothing tone. "I want you happy. If the only thing that will get you out of this slump is that elf, then I want him here. I lost your mother because of his family and I don't want to loose you because of it as well."
Relaen smiled and hugged her father. "Thanks dad." She said. She ran down the corridor and out to the forest. Being the clutz she is, she wasn't paying attention to where she was going and ran into an elf.
"Sorry about that." The elf mumbled. It was Ereht. Relaen smiled and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry. I was acting like an idiot." She said.
Ereht stood there for a moment, shocked at what was going on. He finally came to his senses and put his arms around Relaen. "You don't need to apologize. You have no reason to."
Relaen smiled and pushed a stray hair out of his face. "Don't tell me that or I'll never apologize, even when I need to." She said. Before Ereht could respond, she leaned in and kissed him.
Legolas and Liera watched all that happened from the tree. Legolas sighed. "I'm glad they made up." He said.
"Yeah. It's good to see them together again." Liera agreed.
"Do you remember when we were like that? Fight and then make up all the time?" Legolas asked.
Liera looked him over. "Used to be? I think we still have our share of fights." She said.
Legolas laughed. "No we don't, we never fight."
"Yes we do."
"No we don't."
"Yes we do!"
"No we don't!"
Liera crossed her arms and walked over to Legolas. Before she could do anything, he wrapped his arms around her. "And now we make up." He said with a smirk before kissing her.
Liera pulled away when she heard two horses galloping through the woods. "Those aren't our horses." She said. They looked down as Gandalf and Elrond appeared from the brush, interrupting Ereht and Relaen's 'make up' session.
They jumped from the tree and greeted the two.
"What brings you here, Mithrandir, Elrond?" Relaen asked, leaning her head on Ereht's shoulder.
"We have good news." Gandalf said.
"Yes, we found a way for you guys to visit the other world." Elrond cut in.