Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters besides those unrecognizable (Valia, Narawen, etc.) have been borrowed from Tolkien.
Title: Shattered Glass
Author: Silmarien
Rating: PG
Summary: An alternate ending to Shadow of the Past. Legolas journeys back to Earsilme after leaving Valia over four centuries ago. There, he finds what he least expects.
A/N: To not spoil anything for you, please read the A/N at the end of the chapter. Special thanks go to Lili for the inspiration for this short vignette.
As always, heaps of thanks go to Davan, my wonderful beta.
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Shattered Glass
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Legolas stopped his horse with a soft elvish command, not noticing the way his steed pranced after all his centuries of riding. The horse's movements had become natural to him, second hand, but it did nothing to comfort Legolas in the unfamiliar surroundings that he found himself in. He had been told that this was where Valia now lived, not with her parents as he had thought she would be, but in a house close to the palace grounds in Earsilme.
The affects of his first confusion, when he had been ushered into the house of Lord Ryland only to find that Valia no longer lived with her family, were still with him. Narawen had told him where he needed to go to find Valia, but neither she nor Lord Ryland would tell Legolas why Valia had moved out of her parent's home.
Their eyes, however, had told Legolas what their words had not, told him that something was amiss, something ominous.
Foreboding crept into Legolas' muscles again as he dismounted from his white horse, guiding the animal over to a groom that had come out to meet Legolas. The house that stood before him was large, with tall archways and intricate carvings along the pillars that supported the roof. It was reminiscent of the splendor of Imladris, blending the ingenuity of elvish architecture and nature.
Legolas found it rather strange that Valia, who made sure she was remembered with whomever she came into contact with by her plain clothing style and humble ways of living, despite her lavish upbringing, would live in such a grand house all by herself.
'Perhaps she has begun her own library,' Legolas mussed as he mounted the stairs and rapped at the door, which he noticed was made of rich wood. He could not help the faint smile from spreading over his lips as a vision of Valia appeared unbidden before his mind's eye. She was resplendent in a dark green dress, which flowed over her form to hang in pools of silk at her feet. It was his last clear memory of her from the last time he had seen her, at Isondil and Silia's wedding. Valia had been as beautiful as the bride herself, and Legolas found that, much to his chagrin, that he remembered nothing of the ceremony afterwards besides Valia.
The door to the house swung open, and Legolas looked up to find an attendant standing in the doorway who immediately ushered the Prince into the front hall upon recognized the circlet and distinct features of King Thranduil's only son.
'Shall I call for the Lord of the House?' the attendant asked demurely.
'Yes, thank you,' Legolas replied politely, watching as the elf quickly moved down the hall and out of view.
Lord of the House!?
Should it not have been Lady of the House? The ill foreboding immediately overwhelmed Legolas again as he looked around his surroundings, observing the marbled floors and ornate tables, carved with complicated elven runes along the tops and legs. Moving to stand in front of a tapestry, sewn in deep shades of greens and blues, Legolas placed his hands behind his back and tried to calm his heart rate.
Something was not right!
He had come to Earsilme as soon as his father granted him time away from his duties as Prince. Legolas had become worried when Valia had stopped answering his letters several years ago. They had kept up a correspondence after he left for Laiquarille. That had been four centuries earlier, four centuries that had been some of the most bittersweet of Legolas' life. Valia had never once asked for him to come to her, never again had told him that she loved him and needed his presence in her life to make her truly content.
Legolas, true to his word, had given up all hopes of ever being granted her hand in marriage after the first century had passed without a favorable response from her in regards to his loving attentions towards her, or at least stopped openly trying to sway her to the idea of a joined life, between them. It was a great surprise, therefore, when he had received a letter from Valia after the one hundred years of their agreement were over, asking that they keep up their correspondence.
And how could Legolas deny her? Indeed, he was far too happy to oblige her. So the letters traveled back and forth between their two kingdoms in a surprising number for two elves who were 'not in love.'
Until they had stopped almost thirty years ago without explanation.
Legolas had received a letter from Valia, formally telling him that she wished all letters to stop between them, yet she had giving no excuse or explanation for her sudden request. Legolas had sent several letters back, asking what her reasons were, but all his letters were sent back to him unopened.
And so he came, as soon as he could, to Earsilme to find Valia, almost thirty years later to find out what he had done to offend her. For he was sure the fault lay on his side and not hers. He had wished to come to her sooner. The days that quickly turned into months and years were slow torture for him, who preferred action to patient waiting, but he could have done nothing about the span of time that had lapsed. He had come when the first opportunity presented itself, hoping that Valia would still willing to speak with him after so long a time.
Legolas became aware of the light footsteps that began to echo down the corridor leading to the main hallway he was now in. Keeping his back to whomever it was that approached, Legolas feigned interest in the tapestry he had been looking at with unseeing eyes for the past several minutes. He could tell that the elf was male, the stride and fall of the steps being too pronounced for a female. It must be the Lord of the House that approached him.
His guess was confirmed when he heard the footsteps enter the hall and come to a stop, before the elf spoke with a voice that was far too deep to ever be mistake for an elven lady's.
'You wished to speak with me Prince Legolas?'
Legolas whirled around at the familiar voice, his hair fanning out like a peacock's tail at the swift turn. Glorfindel stood before him in his formal robes, Earsilme's colors of rich blue and cream, which complimented his golden hair and fair complexion perfectly.
The confused expression on Legolas' face was obvious, as was his uncertainty as he carefully looked at the elven lord in front of him.
'To what do I owe the honor of having the Prince of Laiquarille in my home? Elrond did not tell me that he was expecting you in Earsilme,' Glorfindel tried again.
'My apologies, Lord Glorfindel,' Legolas spoke softly. The bewilderment he felt was hidden as he furrowed his brow. 'I came in search of Lady Valia but have clearly come to the wrong home. Forgive me for intruding in your house.'
Legolas may have been utterly perplexed, but years of training could not fail to notice the way Glorfindel started at his words. The elf wore his surprise as openly as the Prince hid it.
'She has not told you?' he asked after several moments of silence. 'I though she had said something to you…' Glorfindel trailed off, dropping his gaze to his feet suddenly as if they greatly interested him.
Legolas felt his stomach flip at the words while fear suddenly swept through him. Fear of what he was not certain yet, and yet it filled him, brushing icy fingers against his soul as his inkling of foreboding exploded into full panic.
And then he heard her sweet voice, ever the same after over four centuries of separation and just as he remembered it to be, soothing his frazzled nerves though none of his questions had yet to be answered.
'Tell who what?' Valia asked, walking into the front hall slowly. She held a glass vase in her delicate hands and her gaze settled on Glorfindel before sweeping the room to collide with the bright green ones of Legolas in a merging of emerald and sapphire that had not occurred for centuries.
The vase promptly slipped from Valia's hand.
Legolas watched as the glass burst on the hard floor like the fireworks Mithrandir was so famous for, the sound of tinkling shards flying over marble the only noise that pervaded the room.
Valia paled till her skin almost blended with the white wall behind her.
The room suddenly began to swim before her eyes as Valia laid a hand over her stomach. She needed to find somewhere to sit, and fast, but found no chairs in her immediate vicinity. To her great relief, strong arms came to her rescue as her knees began to grow weak, trembling at the sight of the golden vision in front of her. Gentle hands helped her up, holding her arms tenderly to make sure she was alright.
But she was not, and instinctively her arms wrapped around a strong waist as she buried her face into the elf's chest. She breathed deeply, and the scent of mint and forest air, the scent she remembered so well after nearly half a millennium of separation, assaulted her senses. She buried her head deeper into his silky tunic, enjoying the aroma of the one elf who would forever hold her heart and love, while a sharp pang of guilt swept over her. But she threw caution to the wind, pressing herself against him as her body hungrily responded to his presence with an intensity that shocked even her.
At the touch of her stomach against his waist, Legolas could not help but take a sharp intake of breath. It was not the pleasure of the contact that made him do so, though a considerable amount of enjoyment swept through him as her familiar frame pressed against his almost eagerly. No, it was something entirely different.
Valia pulled away at his sharp breath, knowing he had discovered what she wished he would never have had to know. She had tried so hard to protect him from this. The agony, she knew, would be tremendous for both if he ever found out. It had already been difficult for her. She looked up into his face, trying to read the emotions that she knew echoed in the emerald depths of his eyes, but they were not turned towards her and her own shut tightly as she noticed the direction he looked.
Nothing... Legolas felt absolutly nothing as he stared at the rounded belly of Valia. She looked, to him, to be at least ten months pregnant.
Another two months to go Legolas he mentally calculated, aware that the idea was an entirely irrational one given the circumstances.
She was pregnant. His precious Valia was pregnant. And the elfling was not his.
Legolas' eyes flew towards Glorfindel, but he found that the elf lord had vanished from the room. Gratitude flooded the Prince for the consideration when there would have been burning anger if Glorfindel had still been standing in the room against the elf who had stolen Valia from Legolas, who had made her his wife, his lover, and the mother of his children. All the things Legolas had wished to make her.
'Valia,' he murmured, reaching out with a shaking hand to place it over her swollen stomach. The contact instantly broke the bubble of calm that surrounded Legolas, sending a sudden torrent of emotions through him, shredding his soul into tattered pieces as he watched his hand move over her enlarged stomach. He knew there had always been the possibility that this would happen, had tried to convince her several times that there was the chance that she could still conceive.
She had never listened to him.
He was surprised when her own hand moved and unexpectedly rested over his, following his gentle strokes as he attempted to make sense of everything. 'Valia?' he rasped
The devastated tone immediately sent Valia into tears. Her emotions were a complete disaster as she let her hand fall limply from his hand to hang at her side. 'I did not know,' she choked through her constricted throat. 'Legolas, I did not know!'
She could say no more and Legolas was sure that he could feel no more. The explosion of emotions within him was beginning to dull his senses to everything but the elven lady desperately trying so desperately to gain control of herself in front of him. His fingers caught her chin, lifting her tear streaked face into his view. He let his thumb brush over her cheek, wiping away the evidence of her misery.
'Glorfindel?'
He watched as her eyes lowered, concealed under thick lashes of dark black that cast shadows upon her pale skin.
The action was answer enough.
Letting his fingers fall from her face, he took a step back from her, trying to cover the emotions that played across his face with a veneer of indifference. It was all too much for him right now. He felt like he was drowning, it was if she had deprived him of air with her response.
Her eyes lifted to his in a quick movement when he softly stepped away from her. 'Legolas?' she asked, calling out to him as if she were a tiny elfling in need of reassurance from a nightmare. She took a step forward and tried not to wince when he retreated farther from her. 'Legolas please,' she begged. Her voice cracked as she held back a sob that squeezed her throat completely shut. She lifted a trembling hand out to him, watching as he looked at it. His eyes were lowered, and she could not tell what he was feeling. Time stretched on as she continued to reach out to him, and he continued to stare at the silent plea of reassurance.
When he finally lifted his eyes to hers, she could not hold back the gasp that fell from her lips. He looked at her with the eyes a stranger turns on another. No emotions registered in his face or eyes. His features were calm as ice, showing neither revulsion nor love. The lack of feeling pained Valia more than it would have to have seen utter loathing on his handsome face.
She lowered her shaking hand as he retreated to the door.
'Forgive me for intruding, my lady. However, I think it might be best if I take my leave now.' He turned his eyes to her, and for a moment Valia caught a glimpse of the torrent of emotions that were bubbling within him.
The next moment he was gone.
Valia stood numbly, looking out the open door as it swung back and forth on its silver hinges. She moved forward suddenly, drawn by some inexplicable force towards the door to catch one final glimpse of him as he rode out. The crunch of glass beneath her feet went unnoticed as she walked to the door, leaning on the frame in the brightness of the sun that bathed her in its warmth.
She watched as his horse came bolting from the direction of the stables and flew over the pebbled path that led away from the house. Not once did he turn her way, but she continued to gaze on as he urged his snowy white horse into a faster gallop. She studied the curve of his face as it rapidly grew smaller, memorized the way his golden hair tossed about in the wind as glowed under the rays of the sun.
She knew it would be unlikely that she would ever see him again... unless by some chance it was from a distance.
As the elf who held her heart and love road away from the house, strong arms circled her shoulders and stomach above the bulge of the elfling within her. She let her husband press her against his solid chest, allowed him to stroke her hair and whisper soft words into her ear as the Prince of Laiquarille road out of sight, the golden glimmer the last sign her eyes were able to pick up of him.
He was gone...
He had left her...
And forever suddenly seemed like an unbearably long time to live for Valia.
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A/N- First, let me stress that this is just an ALTERNATE ending. It is not the real one. I hope you all enjoyed the tiny vignette and that it will tide you over till the real sequel comes out :)
As always, please leave an email address if you review so I can send you a thank you.