Hello once again. Yes, I know it's been a long time, but I hope that you
shall forgive me and just bear with me. I have had an extremely shitty
term of school (finally on holidays as of yesterday); have suffered through
twelve hours of exams in the last week, a teacher of two of my subjects
being taken to the Board of Education for not teaching the right syllabus,
and thus having to attempt to teach myself an half a year of biology from
the textbook in a little over a week. In short, it has been hell!
Consider this as my peace offering; this update, the next chapter of Extorted up in a few days, and a few other surprises revolving around Legolas being an assassin pretending to be a whore (did that make sense?)
Anyway, here it is, slightly longer then most of the other chapters in the story, and, from my story notes, this should be the second last chapter!
*****
Everything in Me
Chapter Three
Relinquishment.
*****
"And what of the second act of treason?" Gríma hissed, his eyes almost glowing in the dimly lit room. "What of the fact that you allowed the Orc's access to our fort!"
"What?" again both Aragorn and Legolas yelled their question at the same time, only to be closely followed by Gimli's own protest to the statement.
"Because of you that Orc was able to blow up the wall," Gríma stated. "But that was your plan all along, was it not? Something that was prearranged with your wizard master? First to discourage the men with your warnings of death which you passed off as having been discovered with your foresight and then aid Saruman in his dark conjuring that brought down the wall! The accused Elf simply did not both with your safety," Gríma told the people watching the hearing as he paced back and forth, spreading his lies.
"That was an accident!" Aragorn shouted as Gríma told of Legolas' apparent treachery to the court. "And that was not how it happened!"
*****
Two day's earlier...
*****
His arm was actually shaking! Never had such a thing happened before, not once in his years and years of fighting had his nerves bested him.
"Dago han! Dago han, Legolas! Dago han!"
Again the frantic shouting of Aragorn reached his ears over the din of the battle. Upon hearing the desperation in the human's voice, Legolas rather wished that he were cursed with the selective hearing of the human's that surrounded him.
Sparing no more thought to the subject in a frantic attempt to calm the raging and unusual feelings swelling up inside him, Legolas relaxed his fingers, letting his arrow spring from his bow with a deadly snap.
As soon as the arrow took flight, Legolas was able to see that it would never be enough to fall the beast. It was far too high and the rain hindered the strength in which it flew. Quickly pulling another arrow from his quiver, the Prince of Mirkwood fitted it to his bow with trembling hands.
Pulling his bow taut, the shaft of the arrow scraping against the grain of the wood of his bow, Legolas saw his first arrow finally hit. Just as he had predicted, it penetrated the Orc's shoulder, missing the desired mark by a good three inches.
It was as if time had stopped; the frantic movement around him slowing to the relaxed motions of an undisturbed brook. The air seemed thick; heavy - as if one could cut it with a blade and see a large tear afterwards, and it made movements that would have otherwise been quick labored and difficult. His senses screamed at him, his ears ringing with the constant clash of swords and the cries of the dying and commanding. His eyes where blurry, whether it be from lack of rest or the heavily pounding droplets of water he did not know. His body tingled, reacting to even the slightest disturbance in the area around him with a series of twitches and flinches, as if every movement was a thin sword being thrust into him.
Struggling against the strange sensation of his body and mind betraying him, Legolas fought for the clarity of mind to be able to draw his bow with the required strength. Eyes squinting against the onslaught of the rain, the Elf found himself utterly lost without being able to place his faith in his senses.
Sending a prayer to the Valar, he finally let the arrow go, setting it forth on its path.
Once the arrow left his string, the world quaked back into motion. Like the grinding of a waterwheel against its supporting pole, the noise and commotion of the battle surrounding him flooded back into his conscious with an almighty boom. What once appeared to be in slow motion was now supercharged; flying past him at such impossible speeds that even his quick eyesight could not distinguish one thing from the other.
An earsplitting bang resounded around the Deep, and the next thing that the Elf knew, he was in the air, being launched backwards with such force that he was almost sure that he was being split apart. He could feel the wind in his hair, hear it as it whistled shrilly past his pointed ears as he began his plummet back towards the ground, and yet all the while all he could think was that he had missed again.
With the sounds of stone hitting stone, screams as people were crushed and the victorious roar of the Orcs, Legolas was unsure of when he actually hit the ground, all he could pinpoint was when the pain intensified.
Shards of rock and stone clattered about him, all by some miracle missing his body that lay prone upon the ground with his breath unable to reach his lungs. His head felt as if it had split in two, opening up his mind for an intense round of pain that felt like there was a temperamental giant throwing boulders around within his brain. Assessing from the amount of throbbing that he could feel in every part of his body, he knew that nothing was broken, though he was utterly unsure if that was a good thing.
"Here they come!" a voice shouted out, pulling Legolas from his pain inflicted semi-consciousness. Forcing his body into gear, he rolled over onto his hands and knees, mindful of the sharp points of the wall that littered the ground.
Relieved to have air reaching his protesting lungs once again, the Elf allowed himself a mere moment to look around him. Little more then a few feet away from him on his right lay a man that he had been standing next to on the wall. The man's face was pale and blood streaked, his lips open in a startled and yet silent cry while his chest was completely crushed by a large brick of hewn stone. His left side portrayed no better a scene; at least three other bodies lying crushed and broken between portions of what had once been the wall.
Movement off to his left drew Legolas' attention, and, much to his relief, he saw the familiar form of Aragorn picking his way out from underneath the small pile or rubble in which he had landed.
As if the human had sensed Legolas' gaze, he looked up at the Elf, worry and pain seemingly etched into this face.
'I'm sorry,' Legolas mouthed to the Ranger, feeling the strange need for some form of contact or the ability to cry.
'Do not be,' Aragorn mouthed back, his eyes locked with the Elf's in a gaze that was so intimate that it chilled Legolas to the bone. He imagined that he could feel Aragorn looking right through him, reading his thoughts and understanding his overwhelming sense of guilt.
Another shout came from behind them, breaking the strange gaze for merely a moment, before both unthinkingly looked back to each other. Speaking without words in a language formed from many years of friendship, both slowly reached for their weapons; Aragorn his sword and Legolas his bow, which had luckily been left intact.
"NOW!" Aragorn shouted, and, as one, the Elf and man jumped to their feet, bow and sword raised and their pain pushed aside, ready to fight on.
*****
Two day's later...
*****
"He did not consider what would become of you all after he allowed that Orc to offer access to the area beyond our walls to its companions. He was merely acting out of instruct with his manipulative and destructive master."
"A master that you yourself obey!" Legolas hissed at the man as he walked by the Elf's restrained position. "Was it not you who had been thrown out of Rohan for your own acts of treason; for associating yourself with Saruman?"
"Do you see?" Gríma cried out to the watching people, "do you see the way in which he seeks to promote himself by the defamation of others? He is guilty! I promise you that."
"Just as you are guilty of what he spoke of," Aragorn once again pointed out. "By the way, how is it that you are back here spreading your lies?"
"That incident was a simple misunderstanding," Théoden spoke up once again, "Gríma pleaded his case before me and was found to be wrongfully accused."
Glancing quickly at Gandalf, who still remained silent in his seat, Aragorn felt his already heightened sense of panic increase. This was not going well! Mind made up, concocting one last desperate ploy, Aragorn sent a meaningful look in Gimli's direction, telling him to be silent no matter what. If this failed, then both he and Legolas would need Gimli to be considered 'guilt free' by the idiotic court.
"If Legolas is guilty of Necromancy, then I am guilty also!" Aragorn shouted hastily while rising to his feet. "I use swords to see the future, I look into their blades and do not see my own reflection but a shadow of what is to come." Making his stand over next to the Elf, Aragorn kept his head held high and glared down any that sought to contradict him.
"Aragorn!" Legolas hissed out of the corner of his mouth while not breaking eye contact with Théoden. "What in Valar's name are you doing?"
"Improvising," came the rather doubtful whispered reply.
"Great..." the Elf muttered while letting his eyes drop for the first time. Not only was he being sentenced to death, but his dearest friend was condemning himself.
Yet again another silence fell over the room. A foot shuffled to the right, a cough to the left and nothing more. Théoden was considering what was just said; how to act upon a confession from a future king of Gondor. Sighing in what seemed defeat, Théoden raised his head and nodded at the guards at the side of the room. "Take them away!" he commanded. A handful of guards rushed forward, forming a box around the prisoners while grabbing their forearms and practically dragging them from the room and watching eyes.
Panicking as he and Aragorn were yanked from the room by the squadron guards, Legolas took a large breath and yelled; "foresight? You want foresight, Théoden King? You want me to use my Necromantic power to look into time not yet come? Well how is this for seeing the future? If you kill us not only will you have the fury of Rivendell upon you, but you will have the full wraith of Mirkwood bearing down on your heads."
All the while the guards were pulling him from the room, attempting to silence his cries of evil and doom. Both Aragorn and Legolas kicked and struggled against their restricting arms, the blond thrashing the hardest at the unwanted touches of the humans'.
"With the Elves and the Dark Lord against you, how long do you think you will last?" Legolas questioned the watching human's hatred and condemnation in his eyes. "A month? A week? A day?"
Murmurs started up in the room, each listener casting worried looks to their king while covering their ears from the sorcery that spilt from the Elf's mouth like blood from a deep wound. The guards holding them stopped dead in their tracks, not knowing whether to keep a strong grip on their prisoners or to cover their ears in fear as well. They seemed to fear the voice of the Elf far more then his actions; as if he could control them with a single spoken word.
"Your kingdom is weak!" Legolas continued. "You have suffered a blow not easily overcome with this battle, and when the forces of three powerful nations fall on your head, you and your people will crumble to dust and be scattered upon the plains. Your kingdom will not hold, Théoden King, it will be.no.more! Do you understand that? Where Saruman failed, my people will succeed!" Taking a breath and casting a furtively look to Aragorn who merely shrugged, he continued, milking his so called 'power' for all it was worth.
"Yes, I have seen it! I have seen your own fear and stupidity bringing about a plague of death upon your lands. Nothing shall grow, nothing shall live-"
"Silence!"
"No, damnit!" Legolas yelled back while struggling to get closer to the king. "You will listen to me or I shall curse you all right now! You want my plea? You want me to confess to something that your petty mortal minds have conceived. Well here is my confession!" Pulling right out of the guard's grip, he walked himself proudly into the middle of the room, his head held high even though chains kept his arms near his waist and his feet from gaining their normal long strides.
"I confess that I said that I thought that you would all die." Again a mummer spread through the crowd only this time it was more excited, as if this speech was something worth hearing. "I admit to all gathered here that I did say that, but why? Why did I say such a thing? It was no act of foresight; no summoning of the Dark Arts or conversing with the dead to get a vision of the future. It was solely due to the fact that I have no faith in you humans. How could I have ever known that you would be able to pull through such an assault!
"I mean, look at you. Look at how you squabble among yourselves over the smallest and most trivial of things. How was I ever to see hope in a rabble worth no more then a band of ill-trained Orcs?
"Further more, I confess that I allowed that Orc to gain access to the deep. I confess to the fact that the wall was breached because of me. Because of my malfunction! I failed in bringing him down; I made a mistake in what it is that I pride myself upon. I failed to hit my target when I was most needed and there is not a moment that goes by that I do not wish I could turn back the clock and take better aim. I know that I allowed them into the Deep, and because of that form of access many innocent people were killed. I know that I substandard, that it was a personal mistake that I should never have allowed to happen."
"But at the same time, you should also know that it could have happened to anyone," Aragorn added with a gentle smile. Legolas turned to face him and offered a small, almost sad grin of his own that told Aragorn that his words had done little to lift the inner burden that the Elf was carrying.
Aragorn hated seeing his friend beat himself up over something that was not within his control in the first place. Besides, what did he have to lose by trying to comfort his friend?
"So what if Legolas had missed one target? What of the hundred others that he did hit? If he were in league with Saruman, why would he have killed so many of his master's precious soldiers? Why would he, one of the first- born, fight to save your lives - risk his own life - to save people that his mentor wanted destroyed?"
"SILENCE!" Théoden once again yelled while leaping to his feet. "Get them out of my sight and keep them quiet!"
"You can not kill us, Théoden!" Legolas continued, his mind racing with possible things to say in order to buy them even a few minutes. "Do you want to know of the power of the Elves? Do you want to know our true power? Well, did you know that we older Elves can communicate through our minds? That at this very moment, Rivendell, Mirkwood and Lothlórien alike are rousing their army and preparing to bring war about your lands!"
Shuffling closer to the yelling Elf, Aragorn leaned in to the Elf's ear. "What are you doing? You cannot use-"
"Shut up!" Legolas muttered, trying to keep his secret from the ears of the court surrounding them.
"I have had enough of both your words and Saruman's lies filling my ears. I shall have no more!" Théoden yelled, his fist hitting the armrest of his chair as he drowned out the rest of what Legolas was about to say.
"Saruman's words?" Aragorn questioned heatedly. "Look beside you, Théoden! You have the very embodiment of Saruman's evil standing as your right-hand man who still whispers in your ear! And you? You are not strong enough to refuse! You listen; listen like the good little puppet that you have become."
"How dare you accuse me of such lies!" Gríma protested as he stalked across the room towards the two prisoners.
"I made a mistake," Aragorn murmured when the other man was within earshot, "I should have let him kill you when he had the chance!"
Smiling self assuredly, Gríma just nodded his head slightly as his beady eyes locked onto Aragorn's. "That is good," he hissed, "make threats of death at such a time. You will get both yourself and your little friend killed even sooner." Glancing over the shoulders of both man and Elf, Gríma waved the guards forward. "You heard your king, take them away!"
Giving into his fate, the fight drained out of him, Legolas complied as the hands of the guards closed roughly around his upper arms and tugged him forward. Feeling rather then seeing Aragorn do the same beside him, Legolas allowed the humans to lead him and his best friend out of the room and into the corridor that would lead to their cell...and consequently to their execution.
*****
Tbc...
Man that was fun to write! Oh, and I included the flashback to the Orc- wall incident solely for the fact that I was annoyed that the movie only showed Aragorn getting thrown and getting back up. I mean, the Elf was up there too!! Stupid Peter Jackson left out a perfect opportunity for Legolas ouchies!
*is listening to "Helm's Deep"* I LOVE the bit at like, 2:39 into it with the drums and violin. Anyway, I hope that that lived up to your expectations and that it succeeded in its peace commencing task...
Replies to reviews:
Miralas: I am leaving the slash up to the reader. There will be no making out or anything of the like, but if one wants to read it as a slash story, then by all means, feel free to. I mean, there are some things in there that I consider slightly slashy, but that is just my thoughts on the situation. So you want Legolas to die, do ya? *eyes glint* fun, fun, fun!
Legolaslover: I am very sorry for the delay, and I hope that you are still enjoying it.
Ryoko: YAY! Someone who understands where I am coming from! It is hard to do both, but I am unwilling to screw up my education and refuse to stop writing. It just means that I have to make time and prioritize! *looks at smashed window* tired that...LOL. Hope you liked this chapter!
Tamara: thank you, and I hope that you enjoyed.
Karina: I liked Haleth - I thought he was a she, but that is irrelevant! Lol, but yes, I thought that the Elf should have *some* supporters... and yes, it was the Galadriel fearing and the glare that Éomer gave Legolas at their first meeting that really inspired this story. I am also glad that you can see the logic behind it (goddess knows that that is something that I have been struggling to find! Lol) Lol, I am glad that my stories make you think, or that you never know what it going to happen (half the time I never do either, but that is also beside the point!) I'm happy that you like the 'witless worm' coming into it. believe it or not, that was not pre-planned; I kinda just put that in there before I posted last time and mentally rewrote the story to fit my own twisted mind! As for the Legolas and Gríma thing, I hate to say it, but you shall just have to wait! *evil smile* WOW, you are really looking deeply into it, aren't you? Lol, I don't know whether I should be happy that you are putting so much thought into it, or apologizing for causing you mental strain! Lol. But thank you very much for you lovely review!
LAXgirl: it's here, it's here!
Eilonwy: Hell yes, slash is good! But so is friendship! *is torn...* well, that was one more chapter down. Hope it lived up to what you were looking forward to.
Sakura and Yugi-chan: it is always bad when people are happy that I finally updated - means I am a slack ass! Lol!
Gemstone: Hey! Long time no see! Yes, I am opting for a more mental thriller/torture then my usual 'make the Elf bleed' factor! As to how they are going to get out of this, I am still somewhat unsure! Lol *joins you in jumping around with a big stupid grin on her face for no reason*
Linis: come now, if I gave you all the answers last chapter, why would you come back for this one? I have to keep you hanging for a little bit...
Andmetwen: Evil Gríma, evil Gríma! To die, or not to die; I guess that is the question, hey?
Flick: Dude, I don't care if you review three years from now, as long as you eventually leave one of your lovely reviews! ;) thank you! And yes, exams cause pain!!!!
Thank you for the complement about my writing, though I hardly call it a style. It is either I get annoyed or depressed so I write and take my anger out on other people! Lol. But yes, I want Legolas to be shit scared but still be his usual brave and yet closed off self. ...he is such a fun character to break...
Ah, the evils of the movieverse. I do see something's as an insult when you go movieverse (like Haldir's death, an army of Elves at Helm's Deep, leaving out the "Legolas Greenleaf, long under tree" riddle, and things like that) but for this story I actually need the movie changes to prove my point. That is why Haldir is not there, but Gríma parts have been incorporated. Keeping them in character is the hard part! I mean, look at Legolas, in the book he was a bit of a smart-ass, but in the movie he was the 'I'll stand here and occasionally say a line, which will more often then not be a statement of the obvious' type. LOL! In that respect, I think that it is good to have both movie and book as you can blend the almost different characters into one and then you are satisfying both fandom's.
"It also helps the reader to relate back to where these events are leading," it also helps me to make sure that I do not get sidetracked with yet another Helm's Deep battle - done that already! Lol. Plus it is fun screwing with the different times while keeping the story moving and only unraveling certain things as I go. LMAO! You make more sense then I do!!
Yes, the balance between slash and friendship was a wondrous discovery! *Nobel Prize, here I come!* yes, it is a win-win situation!
Damn! Another person who has read that book! I REALLY need to read it now!
*beams* "The road to civilization is also the road to destruction.)" My history teacher says that all the time, and it kinda got planted within my poor, overworked brain! It was one of those things that won't leave you alone until you use it somewhere, I just NEVER thought that someone would pick it out of such an odd context. I mean, sticking it into a Lord of the Rings fanfiction is not exactly the most common place to put a variation of such a complex idea. But, my god, I am still blown away that you found that! Lol! WOW, thank you for all that you said after that as well (I am still in a state of shock that you picked out my little quote that I am even further unequipped to reply). But thank you again, and I am glad that I am able to at least distance myself slightly from some of the other writers out there who, as you so wonderfully put it, "don't know what the word 'theme' means." Man, I really didn't think that anyone would notice that!!! And no, no, you are not heading in the wrong direction! Lol, you hit it so spot on that you actually have my speechless, which is a frightening thought!
I hope you have a good day too! And thank you so very, very much!!!
Rosie: HA! 'Brilliant' and 'evil' in the same sentence! Up yours to the academy of 'evil genius planning to take over the world' how said that I shall never make it! lol, sorry, slight sanity slip... I really want to read "The Crucible" - yes, I shall make that my goal for this holidays! Am reading an interesting book on Jack the Ripper at the moment, but after that I shall try and get hold of "The Crucible!" Congrats on your sell out performances!
angelbird1224: it's continued!!!!
Elflover: Ah, screwed up perceptions and misinterperations - aren't they the fun stuff in life!!! ;) and yes, Gríma!
Exrated: glad you like and thank you for the review!
Hellga: thank you! It is good to find another person that can see the logic behind it - means that I am not completely insane...
Alynna Lis Eachann: Oh, so someone is starting to formulate a reason for Gandalf's silence! And I shall just nod and agree with what you said about The Crucible as, as I said, I am yet to read it. but I really think that I shall have to!
Aislynn Crowdaughter: Oh dude! A FLAME! Don't know why I'm replying to this, as since you don't like the story, one would hope that you aren't forcing yourself to read it! But anyway, have you ever had a rumor spread about you? Because then you may better understand this. It is all about a play of words, misleading opinions made public and a bit more of an evil force working in the background. Now sure the Rohirrim would be gracious, but they *do* fear the Elves as they don't understand their language nor their ways and in such dark times, the smallest of things can be blown out completely out of proportion and into another thing entirely.
But hey, if you don't like it, or believe it, then that is fine with me. I am not going to go off or delete your review or anything, in fact I would like to thank you for leaving your opinion and telling me exactly how you feel. I mean, even I will admit that I have asked for a great deal of faith from the readers to trust me with this story. So yes, thank you for being so honest and for actually making me go back and double check the plot.
Earendilstar: Angst is fun, angst is good, angst makes the world go round! Hope this chapter was angsty as well!
Nina: Slash, not slash - it is up to you. And yes, Gríma's betray is known as shown in this chapter...really makes you think, don't it??
LotR Fan: I actually do agree with you about slash! Read the book, and no implications of slash, but the movie, the movie was the evil one. I mean, the council of Elrond with Aragorn and Legolas, the crossing of the bridge of kazard-dum, the 'your late' scene. I saw both movies for like my second and third times with a gay friend of mine, and even she picked up on it - but I blame it entirely on the actors (oh look, here come the law suits!) NOT THAT I AM SAYING THAT EITHER VIGGO OR ORLANDO ARE GAY (got that out of the way) but they have a natural chemistry that really picked up on screen. Well at least that is what I think. Lol, the answers are slowly being given...
Dragon-of-the-north: Man, confusing is my middle name! I can't even go to get myself a drink without getting confused! As for exciting, I lead a rather dull life - Oh, you mean the story! LOL ;) Oh, and I like your thinking about the sacrifice the Elf to save himself thing! Very good! But not quite spot on! Oh, and another person that is mystified about the hateful look... *cackles evilly as that is what is expected* But let me tell you, you are getting Luke-warm! And yes, I am relying a lot of the suspicions of the Rohirrim to make this story plausible. Thank you for the lovely review!
Ok, that was almost longer then the story...but I wanted to answer all of you. Thank you very much for the support and I hope that you can understand the delay!
Minka.
Consider this as my peace offering; this update, the next chapter of Extorted up in a few days, and a few other surprises revolving around Legolas being an assassin pretending to be a whore (did that make sense?)
Anyway, here it is, slightly longer then most of the other chapters in the story, and, from my story notes, this should be the second last chapter!
*****
Everything in Me
Chapter Three
Relinquishment.
*****
"And what of the second act of treason?" Gríma hissed, his eyes almost glowing in the dimly lit room. "What of the fact that you allowed the Orc's access to our fort!"
"What?" again both Aragorn and Legolas yelled their question at the same time, only to be closely followed by Gimli's own protest to the statement.
"Because of you that Orc was able to blow up the wall," Gríma stated. "But that was your plan all along, was it not? Something that was prearranged with your wizard master? First to discourage the men with your warnings of death which you passed off as having been discovered with your foresight and then aid Saruman in his dark conjuring that brought down the wall! The accused Elf simply did not both with your safety," Gríma told the people watching the hearing as he paced back and forth, spreading his lies.
"That was an accident!" Aragorn shouted as Gríma told of Legolas' apparent treachery to the court. "And that was not how it happened!"
*****
Two day's earlier...
*****
His arm was actually shaking! Never had such a thing happened before, not once in his years and years of fighting had his nerves bested him.
"Dago han! Dago han, Legolas! Dago han!"
Again the frantic shouting of Aragorn reached his ears over the din of the battle. Upon hearing the desperation in the human's voice, Legolas rather wished that he were cursed with the selective hearing of the human's that surrounded him.
Sparing no more thought to the subject in a frantic attempt to calm the raging and unusual feelings swelling up inside him, Legolas relaxed his fingers, letting his arrow spring from his bow with a deadly snap.
As soon as the arrow took flight, Legolas was able to see that it would never be enough to fall the beast. It was far too high and the rain hindered the strength in which it flew. Quickly pulling another arrow from his quiver, the Prince of Mirkwood fitted it to his bow with trembling hands.
Pulling his bow taut, the shaft of the arrow scraping against the grain of the wood of his bow, Legolas saw his first arrow finally hit. Just as he had predicted, it penetrated the Orc's shoulder, missing the desired mark by a good three inches.
It was as if time had stopped; the frantic movement around him slowing to the relaxed motions of an undisturbed brook. The air seemed thick; heavy - as if one could cut it with a blade and see a large tear afterwards, and it made movements that would have otherwise been quick labored and difficult. His senses screamed at him, his ears ringing with the constant clash of swords and the cries of the dying and commanding. His eyes where blurry, whether it be from lack of rest or the heavily pounding droplets of water he did not know. His body tingled, reacting to even the slightest disturbance in the area around him with a series of twitches and flinches, as if every movement was a thin sword being thrust into him.
Struggling against the strange sensation of his body and mind betraying him, Legolas fought for the clarity of mind to be able to draw his bow with the required strength. Eyes squinting against the onslaught of the rain, the Elf found himself utterly lost without being able to place his faith in his senses.
Sending a prayer to the Valar, he finally let the arrow go, setting it forth on its path.
Once the arrow left his string, the world quaked back into motion. Like the grinding of a waterwheel against its supporting pole, the noise and commotion of the battle surrounding him flooded back into his conscious with an almighty boom. What once appeared to be in slow motion was now supercharged; flying past him at such impossible speeds that even his quick eyesight could not distinguish one thing from the other.
An earsplitting bang resounded around the Deep, and the next thing that the Elf knew, he was in the air, being launched backwards with such force that he was almost sure that he was being split apart. He could feel the wind in his hair, hear it as it whistled shrilly past his pointed ears as he began his plummet back towards the ground, and yet all the while all he could think was that he had missed again.
With the sounds of stone hitting stone, screams as people were crushed and the victorious roar of the Orcs, Legolas was unsure of when he actually hit the ground, all he could pinpoint was when the pain intensified.
Shards of rock and stone clattered about him, all by some miracle missing his body that lay prone upon the ground with his breath unable to reach his lungs. His head felt as if it had split in two, opening up his mind for an intense round of pain that felt like there was a temperamental giant throwing boulders around within his brain. Assessing from the amount of throbbing that he could feel in every part of his body, he knew that nothing was broken, though he was utterly unsure if that was a good thing.
"Here they come!" a voice shouted out, pulling Legolas from his pain inflicted semi-consciousness. Forcing his body into gear, he rolled over onto his hands and knees, mindful of the sharp points of the wall that littered the ground.
Relieved to have air reaching his protesting lungs once again, the Elf allowed himself a mere moment to look around him. Little more then a few feet away from him on his right lay a man that he had been standing next to on the wall. The man's face was pale and blood streaked, his lips open in a startled and yet silent cry while his chest was completely crushed by a large brick of hewn stone. His left side portrayed no better a scene; at least three other bodies lying crushed and broken between portions of what had once been the wall.
Movement off to his left drew Legolas' attention, and, much to his relief, he saw the familiar form of Aragorn picking his way out from underneath the small pile or rubble in which he had landed.
As if the human had sensed Legolas' gaze, he looked up at the Elf, worry and pain seemingly etched into this face.
'I'm sorry,' Legolas mouthed to the Ranger, feeling the strange need for some form of contact or the ability to cry.
'Do not be,' Aragorn mouthed back, his eyes locked with the Elf's in a gaze that was so intimate that it chilled Legolas to the bone. He imagined that he could feel Aragorn looking right through him, reading his thoughts and understanding his overwhelming sense of guilt.
Another shout came from behind them, breaking the strange gaze for merely a moment, before both unthinkingly looked back to each other. Speaking without words in a language formed from many years of friendship, both slowly reached for their weapons; Aragorn his sword and Legolas his bow, which had luckily been left intact.
"NOW!" Aragorn shouted, and, as one, the Elf and man jumped to their feet, bow and sword raised and their pain pushed aside, ready to fight on.
*****
Two day's later...
*****
"He did not consider what would become of you all after he allowed that Orc to offer access to the area beyond our walls to its companions. He was merely acting out of instruct with his manipulative and destructive master."
"A master that you yourself obey!" Legolas hissed at the man as he walked by the Elf's restrained position. "Was it not you who had been thrown out of Rohan for your own acts of treason; for associating yourself with Saruman?"
"Do you see?" Gríma cried out to the watching people, "do you see the way in which he seeks to promote himself by the defamation of others? He is guilty! I promise you that."
"Just as you are guilty of what he spoke of," Aragorn once again pointed out. "By the way, how is it that you are back here spreading your lies?"
"That incident was a simple misunderstanding," Théoden spoke up once again, "Gríma pleaded his case before me and was found to be wrongfully accused."
Glancing quickly at Gandalf, who still remained silent in his seat, Aragorn felt his already heightened sense of panic increase. This was not going well! Mind made up, concocting one last desperate ploy, Aragorn sent a meaningful look in Gimli's direction, telling him to be silent no matter what. If this failed, then both he and Legolas would need Gimli to be considered 'guilt free' by the idiotic court.
"If Legolas is guilty of Necromancy, then I am guilty also!" Aragorn shouted hastily while rising to his feet. "I use swords to see the future, I look into their blades and do not see my own reflection but a shadow of what is to come." Making his stand over next to the Elf, Aragorn kept his head held high and glared down any that sought to contradict him.
"Aragorn!" Legolas hissed out of the corner of his mouth while not breaking eye contact with Théoden. "What in Valar's name are you doing?"
"Improvising," came the rather doubtful whispered reply.
"Great..." the Elf muttered while letting his eyes drop for the first time. Not only was he being sentenced to death, but his dearest friend was condemning himself.
Yet again another silence fell over the room. A foot shuffled to the right, a cough to the left and nothing more. Théoden was considering what was just said; how to act upon a confession from a future king of Gondor. Sighing in what seemed defeat, Théoden raised his head and nodded at the guards at the side of the room. "Take them away!" he commanded. A handful of guards rushed forward, forming a box around the prisoners while grabbing their forearms and practically dragging them from the room and watching eyes.
Panicking as he and Aragorn were yanked from the room by the squadron guards, Legolas took a large breath and yelled; "foresight? You want foresight, Théoden King? You want me to use my Necromantic power to look into time not yet come? Well how is this for seeing the future? If you kill us not only will you have the fury of Rivendell upon you, but you will have the full wraith of Mirkwood bearing down on your heads."
All the while the guards were pulling him from the room, attempting to silence his cries of evil and doom. Both Aragorn and Legolas kicked and struggled against their restricting arms, the blond thrashing the hardest at the unwanted touches of the humans'.
"With the Elves and the Dark Lord against you, how long do you think you will last?" Legolas questioned the watching human's hatred and condemnation in his eyes. "A month? A week? A day?"
Murmurs started up in the room, each listener casting worried looks to their king while covering their ears from the sorcery that spilt from the Elf's mouth like blood from a deep wound. The guards holding them stopped dead in their tracks, not knowing whether to keep a strong grip on their prisoners or to cover their ears in fear as well. They seemed to fear the voice of the Elf far more then his actions; as if he could control them with a single spoken word.
"Your kingdom is weak!" Legolas continued. "You have suffered a blow not easily overcome with this battle, and when the forces of three powerful nations fall on your head, you and your people will crumble to dust and be scattered upon the plains. Your kingdom will not hold, Théoden King, it will be.no.more! Do you understand that? Where Saruman failed, my people will succeed!" Taking a breath and casting a furtively look to Aragorn who merely shrugged, he continued, milking his so called 'power' for all it was worth.
"Yes, I have seen it! I have seen your own fear and stupidity bringing about a plague of death upon your lands. Nothing shall grow, nothing shall live-"
"Silence!"
"No, damnit!" Legolas yelled back while struggling to get closer to the king. "You will listen to me or I shall curse you all right now! You want my plea? You want me to confess to something that your petty mortal minds have conceived. Well here is my confession!" Pulling right out of the guard's grip, he walked himself proudly into the middle of the room, his head held high even though chains kept his arms near his waist and his feet from gaining their normal long strides.
"I confess that I said that I thought that you would all die." Again a mummer spread through the crowd only this time it was more excited, as if this speech was something worth hearing. "I admit to all gathered here that I did say that, but why? Why did I say such a thing? It was no act of foresight; no summoning of the Dark Arts or conversing with the dead to get a vision of the future. It was solely due to the fact that I have no faith in you humans. How could I have ever known that you would be able to pull through such an assault!
"I mean, look at you. Look at how you squabble among yourselves over the smallest and most trivial of things. How was I ever to see hope in a rabble worth no more then a band of ill-trained Orcs?
"Further more, I confess that I allowed that Orc to gain access to the deep. I confess to the fact that the wall was breached because of me. Because of my malfunction! I failed in bringing him down; I made a mistake in what it is that I pride myself upon. I failed to hit my target when I was most needed and there is not a moment that goes by that I do not wish I could turn back the clock and take better aim. I know that I allowed them into the Deep, and because of that form of access many innocent people were killed. I know that I substandard, that it was a personal mistake that I should never have allowed to happen."
"But at the same time, you should also know that it could have happened to anyone," Aragorn added with a gentle smile. Legolas turned to face him and offered a small, almost sad grin of his own that told Aragorn that his words had done little to lift the inner burden that the Elf was carrying.
Aragorn hated seeing his friend beat himself up over something that was not within his control in the first place. Besides, what did he have to lose by trying to comfort his friend?
"So what if Legolas had missed one target? What of the hundred others that he did hit? If he were in league with Saruman, why would he have killed so many of his master's precious soldiers? Why would he, one of the first- born, fight to save your lives - risk his own life - to save people that his mentor wanted destroyed?"
"SILENCE!" Théoden once again yelled while leaping to his feet. "Get them out of my sight and keep them quiet!"
"You can not kill us, Théoden!" Legolas continued, his mind racing with possible things to say in order to buy them even a few minutes. "Do you want to know of the power of the Elves? Do you want to know our true power? Well, did you know that we older Elves can communicate through our minds? That at this very moment, Rivendell, Mirkwood and Lothlórien alike are rousing their army and preparing to bring war about your lands!"
Shuffling closer to the yelling Elf, Aragorn leaned in to the Elf's ear. "What are you doing? You cannot use-"
"Shut up!" Legolas muttered, trying to keep his secret from the ears of the court surrounding them.
"I have had enough of both your words and Saruman's lies filling my ears. I shall have no more!" Théoden yelled, his fist hitting the armrest of his chair as he drowned out the rest of what Legolas was about to say.
"Saruman's words?" Aragorn questioned heatedly. "Look beside you, Théoden! You have the very embodiment of Saruman's evil standing as your right-hand man who still whispers in your ear! And you? You are not strong enough to refuse! You listen; listen like the good little puppet that you have become."
"How dare you accuse me of such lies!" Gríma protested as he stalked across the room towards the two prisoners.
"I made a mistake," Aragorn murmured when the other man was within earshot, "I should have let him kill you when he had the chance!"
Smiling self assuredly, Gríma just nodded his head slightly as his beady eyes locked onto Aragorn's. "That is good," he hissed, "make threats of death at such a time. You will get both yourself and your little friend killed even sooner." Glancing over the shoulders of both man and Elf, Gríma waved the guards forward. "You heard your king, take them away!"
Giving into his fate, the fight drained out of him, Legolas complied as the hands of the guards closed roughly around his upper arms and tugged him forward. Feeling rather then seeing Aragorn do the same beside him, Legolas allowed the humans to lead him and his best friend out of the room and into the corridor that would lead to their cell...and consequently to their execution.
*****
Tbc...
Man that was fun to write! Oh, and I included the flashback to the Orc- wall incident solely for the fact that I was annoyed that the movie only showed Aragorn getting thrown and getting back up. I mean, the Elf was up there too!! Stupid Peter Jackson left out a perfect opportunity for Legolas ouchies!
*is listening to "Helm's Deep"* I LOVE the bit at like, 2:39 into it with the drums and violin. Anyway, I hope that that lived up to your expectations and that it succeeded in its peace commencing task...
Replies to reviews:
Miralas: I am leaving the slash up to the reader. There will be no making out or anything of the like, but if one wants to read it as a slash story, then by all means, feel free to. I mean, there are some things in there that I consider slightly slashy, but that is just my thoughts on the situation. So you want Legolas to die, do ya? *eyes glint* fun, fun, fun!
Legolaslover: I am very sorry for the delay, and I hope that you are still enjoying it.
Ryoko: YAY! Someone who understands where I am coming from! It is hard to do both, but I am unwilling to screw up my education and refuse to stop writing. It just means that I have to make time and prioritize! *looks at smashed window* tired that...LOL. Hope you liked this chapter!
Tamara: thank you, and I hope that you enjoyed.
Karina: I liked Haleth - I thought he was a she, but that is irrelevant! Lol, but yes, I thought that the Elf should have *some* supporters... and yes, it was the Galadriel fearing and the glare that Éomer gave Legolas at their first meeting that really inspired this story. I am also glad that you can see the logic behind it (goddess knows that that is something that I have been struggling to find! Lol) Lol, I am glad that my stories make you think, or that you never know what it going to happen (half the time I never do either, but that is also beside the point!) I'm happy that you like the 'witless worm' coming into it. believe it or not, that was not pre-planned; I kinda just put that in there before I posted last time and mentally rewrote the story to fit my own twisted mind! As for the Legolas and Gríma thing, I hate to say it, but you shall just have to wait! *evil smile* WOW, you are really looking deeply into it, aren't you? Lol, I don't know whether I should be happy that you are putting so much thought into it, or apologizing for causing you mental strain! Lol. But thank you very much for you lovely review!
LAXgirl: it's here, it's here!
Eilonwy: Hell yes, slash is good! But so is friendship! *is torn...* well, that was one more chapter down. Hope it lived up to what you were looking forward to.
Sakura and Yugi-chan: it is always bad when people are happy that I finally updated - means I am a slack ass! Lol!
Gemstone: Hey! Long time no see! Yes, I am opting for a more mental thriller/torture then my usual 'make the Elf bleed' factor! As to how they are going to get out of this, I am still somewhat unsure! Lol *joins you in jumping around with a big stupid grin on her face for no reason*
Linis: come now, if I gave you all the answers last chapter, why would you come back for this one? I have to keep you hanging for a little bit...
Andmetwen: Evil Gríma, evil Gríma! To die, or not to die; I guess that is the question, hey?
Flick: Dude, I don't care if you review three years from now, as long as you eventually leave one of your lovely reviews! ;) thank you! And yes, exams cause pain!!!!
Thank you for the complement about my writing, though I hardly call it a style. It is either I get annoyed or depressed so I write and take my anger out on other people! Lol. But yes, I want Legolas to be shit scared but still be his usual brave and yet closed off self. ...he is such a fun character to break...
Ah, the evils of the movieverse. I do see something's as an insult when you go movieverse (like Haldir's death, an army of Elves at Helm's Deep, leaving out the "Legolas Greenleaf, long under tree" riddle, and things like that) but for this story I actually need the movie changes to prove my point. That is why Haldir is not there, but Gríma parts have been incorporated. Keeping them in character is the hard part! I mean, look at Legolas, in the book he was a bit of a smart-ass, but in the movie he was the 'I'll stand here and occasionally say a line, which will more often then not be a statement of the obvious' type. LOL! In that respect, I think that it is good to have both movie and book as you can blend the almost different characters into one and then you are satisfying both fandom's.
"It also helps the reader to relate back to where these events are leading," it also helps me to make sure that I do not get sidetracked with yet another Helm's Deep battle - done that already! Lol. Plus it is fun screwing with the different times while keeping the story moving and only unraveling certain things as I go. LMAO! You make more sense then I do!!
Yes, the balance between slash and friendship was a wondrous discovery! *Nobel Prize, here I come!* yes, it is a win-win situation!
Damn! Another person who has read that book! I REALLY need to read it now!
*beams* "The road to civilization is also the road to destruction.)" My history teacher says that all the time, and it kinda got planted within my poor, overworked brain! It was one of those things that won't leave you alone until you use it somewhere, I just NEVER thought that someone would pick it out of such an odd context. I mean, sticking it into a Lord of the Rings fanfiction is not exactly the most common place to put a variation of such a complex idea. But, my god, I am still blown away that you found that! Lol! WOW, thank you for all that you said after that as well (I am still in a state of shock that you picked out my little quote that I am even further unequipped to reply). But thank you again, and I am glad that I am able to at least distance myself slightly from some of the other writers out there who, as you so wonderfully put it, "don't know what the word 'theme' means." Man, I really didn't think that anyone would notice that!!! And no, no, you are not heading in the wrong direction! Lol, you hit it so spot on that you actually have my speechless, which is a frightening thought!
I hope you have a good day too! And thank you so very, very much!!!
Rosie: HA! 'Brilliant' and 'evil' in the same sentence! Up yours to the academy of 'evil genius planning to take over the world' how said that I shall never make it! lol, sorry, slight sanity slip... I really want to read "The Crucible" - yes, I shall make that my goal for this holidays! Am reading an interesting book on Jack the Ripper at the moment, but after that I shall try and get hold of "The Crucible!" Congrats on your sell out performances!
angelbird1224: it's continued!!!!
Elflover: Ah, screwed up perceptions and misinterperations - aren't they the fun stuff in life!!! ;) and yes, Gríma!
Exrated: glad you like and thank you for the review!
Hellga: thank you! It is good to find another person that can see the logic behind it - means that I am not completely insane...
Alynna Lis Eachann: Oh, so someone is starting to formulate a reason for Gandalf's silence! And I shall just nod and agree with what you said about The Crucible as, as I said, I am yet to read it. but I really think that I shall have to!
Aislynn Crowdaughter: Oh dude! A FLAME! Don't know why I'm replying to this, as since you don't like the story, one would hope that you aren't forcing yourself to read it! But anyway, have you ever had a rumor spread about you? Because then you may better understand this. It is all about a play of words, misleading opinions made public and a bit more of an evil force working in the background. Now sure the Rohirrim would be gracious, but they *do* fear the Elves as they don't understand their language nor their ways and in such dark times, the smallest of things can be blown out completely out of proportion and into another thing entirely.
But hey, if you don't like it, or believe it, then that is fine with me. I am not going to go off or delete your review or anything, in fact I would like to thank you for leaving your opinion and telling me exactly how you feel. I mean, even I will admit that I have asked for a great deal of faith from the readers to trust me with this story. So yes, thank you for being so honest and for actually making me go back and double check the plot.
Earendilstar: Angst is fun, angst is good, angst makes the world go round! Hope this chapter was angsty as well!
Nina: Slash, not slash - it is up to you. And yes, Gríma's betray is known as shown in this chapter...really makes you think, don't it??
LotR Fan: I actually do agree with you about slash! Read the book, and no implications of slash, but the movie, the movie was the evil one. I mean, the council of Elrond with Aragorn and Legolas, the crossing of the bridge of kazard-dum, the 'your late' scene. I saw both movies for like my second and third times with a gay friend of mine, and even she picked up on it - but I blame it entirely on the actors (oh look, here come the law suits!) NOT THAT I AM SAYING THAT EITHER VIGGO OR ORLANDO ARE GAY (got that out of the way) but they have a natural chemistry that really picked up on screen. Well at least that is what I think. Lol, the answers are slowly being given...
Dragon-of-the-north: Man, confusing is my middle name! I can't even go to get myself a drink without getting confused! As for exciting, I lead a rather dull life - Oh, you mean the story! LOL ;) Oh, and I like your thinking about the sacrifice the Elf to save himself thing! Very good! But not quite spot on! Oh, and another person that is mystified about the hateful look... *cackles evilly as that is what is expected* But let me tell you, you are getting Luke-warm! And yes, I am relying a lot of the suspicions of the Rohirrim to make this story plausible. Thank you for the lovely review!
Ok, that was almost longer then the story...but I wanted to answer all of you. Thank you very much for the support and I hope that you can understand the delay!
Minka.
