Chapter 10: Decisions
A/N: New Chapter, hope you like it! Please R and R like always. Yep that's all!
Long it was before any of them moved from their seats on the cold stone. Gimli had dozed off where he sat, but both Elves continued on. Legolas felt Arway questioning herself. Felt her fight with a shadow from within and without her. Still, she struggled even after her decisions were made.
Arway breathed in a full chest of air and released it slowly. She sent everything out of her mind. The piles of questions and doubts came back. But again, she pushed them down and away.
The when no longer could she wait for the King, did Aragorn leave the chamber. He had changed in appearance. He looked older, wiser, but exhaustion claimed his being. As he walked through the doors, he noticed Arway on the ground.
"Arise Arway for there is much to tell."
But before he could move on, Arway was before him. As Legolas came closer, he watched the actions she took. She put a thumb over each eyebrow, so that the rest of her hand rested on his forehead and hair. The tips of her thumbs touched just above his nose. Then, Legolas watched as both Arway and Aragorn closed their eyes. Halbarad advanced at that moment, but Legolas hailed him off.
"Disturbing them will do more harm then anything that is passed between them."
Long minutes passed before Arway opened her eyes. Once she did, she withdrew her hands from Aragorn's head. And, a second time she closed her eyes. She began to sway. Legolas reached out and steadied her, still he held her even after Aragorn returned to the chamber. Legolas felt as her body would tense and then relax, as she watched something under her eyelids. Then, her body would repeat the motions.
And, when he became unsure if ever he would see her crystal pools again, Arway opened her eyes. There Legolas saw confusion, hope, and fear. She looked at him for a long while setting everything in side her mind in order. For the second time that day, Legolas kissed her brow. It was a sign of acceptance-that he did not have to know what she had seen. It was a promise to learn of what happened on her time, not his. Then, he dropped one arm from around her, placed the other on her shoulder and led her from the hallway.
When they were outside the room where everyone was eating, Arway stopped. She took her weapons from Gimli and put them back on. In turn, she looked at Gimli, then up at Legolas. She placed a hand on each of their cheeks and proceeded to kiss the other cheek of each. Every movement she made was a sign of thanks. For leaving her alone when needed, for being there when needed, for being her friends, and for again and again bringing her back into reality.
"He has revealed himself to the one. He struggled long and hard with the evil. And now, he knows the only thing that can defeat him is alive. Soon we will be in a hard, bloody war." Then she dropped her hands from their cheeks and entered the room.
"I was right when I said I had looked my last upon that which is fairest. But she is just as fair as the Lady of Lórien." Gimli muttered.
Legolas looked down at his short friend and smiled. In his heart, he agreed with the Dwarf.
When Arway entered the hall, she was amazed to see the new men there. Through the struggle with herself and the reading of Aragorn's mind, she had forgotten the Rangers and the son's of Elrond. But they were before her now, and she remembered their meeting during the dark night. When she looked up again, she saw Merry sitting next to the King of Rohan. He looked at her with an amazement that said, look-I-am-sitting-next-to-the-King. She smiled at the Hobbit and sat down to let her body revive and eat.
"Long has the night been. So long, I forgot the Rangers and the young Hobbit, Merry."
"Long it has been, but they have been like the shadows of the walls. Do not worry about Master Merry; we have kept him in good company. But it seems since we left him he has found better." Legolas told her.
"Stiff they are, but courteous too. Never do they talk but even then, they are courteous, reminds me of Aragorn when first I met him. And the son's of Elrond are gallant folk but much different from both of you Elves. Much more somber, they came looking for war, while war found us." Gimli muttered.
After the meal, all went out to the green below the gate of the burg. There the Riders were assembling. And to the side, the Rangers sat mounted on their horses. Soon, came Aragorn with Éomer beside him and Halbarad with a staff. Then the fair sons of Elrond. And lastly, Gimli, Legolas, and Arway.
The three were but onlookers as Aragorn spoke with the King of Rohan. It would be three days before the mustering of the Rohirrim began. Three days was too long for Aragorn, all could tell. Then he proclaimed the rode unto which he would take, the Paths of the Dead.
A/N: New Chapter, hope you like it! Please R and R like always. Yep that's all!
Long it was before any of them moved from their seats on the cold stone. Gimli had dozed off where he sat, but both Elves continued on. Legolas felt Arway questioning herself. Felt her fight with a shadow from within and without her. Still, she struggled even after her decisions were made.
Arway breathed in a full chest of air and released it slowly. She sent everything out of her mind. The piles of questions and doubts came back. But again, she pushed them down and away.
The when no longer could she wait for the King, did Aragorn leave the chamber. He had changed in appearance. He looked older, wiser, but exhaustion claimed his being. As he walked through the doors, he noticed Arway on the ground.
"Arise Arway for there is much to tell."
But before he could move on, Arway was before him. As Legolas came closer, he watched the actions she took. She put a thumb over each eyebrow, so that the rest of her hand rested on his forehead and hair. The tips of her thumbs touched just above his nose. Then, Legolas watched as both Arway and Aragorn closed their eyes. Halbarad advanced at that moment, but Legolas hailed him off.
"Disturbing them will do more harm then anything that is passed between them."
Long minutes passed before Arway opened her eyes. Once she did, she withdrew her hands from Aragorn's head. And, a second time she closed her eyes. She began to sway. Legolas reached out and steadied her, still he held her even after Aragorn returned to the chamber. Legolas felt as her body would tense and then relax, as she watched something under her eyelids. Then, her body would repeat the motions.
And, when he became unsure if ever he would see her crystal pools again, Arway opened her eyes. There Legolas saw confusion, hope, and fear. She looked at him for a long while setting everything in side her mind in order. For the second time that day, Legolas kissed her brow. It was a sign of acceptance-that he did not have to know what she had seen. It was a promise to learn of what happened on her time, not his. Then, he dropped one arm from around her, placed the other on her shoulder and led her from the hallway.
When they were outside the room where everyone was eating, Arway stopped. She took her weapons from Gimli and put them back on. In turn, she looked at Gimli, then up at Legolas. She placed a hand on each of their cheeks and proceeded to kiss the other cheek of each. Every movement she made was a sign of thanks. For leaving her alone when needed, for being there when needed, for being her friends, and for again and again bringing her back into reality.
"He has revealed himself to the one. He struggled long and hard with the evil. And now, he knows the only thing that can defeat him is alive. Soon we will be in a hard, bloody war." Then she dropped her hands from their cheeks and entered the room.
"I was right when I said I had looked my last upon that which is fairest. But she is just as fair as the Lady of Lórien." Gimli muttered.
Legolas looked down at his short friend and smiled. In his heart, he agreed with the Dwarf.
When Arway entered the hall, she was amazed to see the new men there. Through the struggle with herself and the reading of Aragorn's mind, she had forgotten the Rangers and the son's of Elrond. But they were before her now, and she remembered their meeting during the dark night. When she looked up again, she saw Merry sitting next to the King of Rohan. He looked at her with an amazement that said, look-I-am-sitting-next-to-the-King. She smiled at the Hobbit and sat down to let her body revive and eat.
"Long has the night been. So long, I forgot the Rangers and the young Hobbit, Merry."
"Long it has been, but they have been like the shadows of the walls. Do not worry about Master Merry; we have kept him in good company. But it seems since we left him he has found better." Legolas told her.
"Stiff they are, but courteous too. Never do they talk but even then, they are courteous, reminds me of Aragorn when first I met him. And the son's of Elrond are gallant folk but much different from both of you Elves. Much more somber, they came looking for war, while war found us." Gimli muttered.
After the meal, all went out to the green below the gate of the burg. There the Riders were assembling. And to the side, the Rangers sat mounted on their horses. Soon, came Aragorn with Éomer beside him and Halbarad with a staff. Then the fair sons of Elrond. And lastly, Gimli, Legolas, and Arway.
The three were but onlookers as Aragorn spoke with the King of Rohan. It would be three days before the mustering of the Rohirrim began. Three days was too long for Aragorn, all could tell. Then he proclaimed the rode unto which he would take, the Paths of the Dead.
