The Path That Need Chooses by Ecri (See part 1 for disclaimer.)
Author's Note: Anything that seems familiar, especially lines of dialogue, are right from the movies or the book. All ideas are inspired by the book and the movies. Any lines or scenes that I have taken directly from any other source or are too similar to scenes from the films are in italics. No disrespect is intended.
Please see replies to reviews at end of chapter, and please review.
Part 4
Legolas wished for mountain tops, hillsides, green grass, and trees. Whenever he was upset he would climb to the top of the nearest tree and allow the sweet embrace of nature's sentinels to ease his troubled heart. The sight of the stars that he knew winked somewhere over his head on the other side of the stifling stone would be a welcome one as well. He could not even get too far away given the cramped campsite and the fact that the radiance from Gandalf's staff only illuminated so much of the cavern. He felt a deep reluctance to leave its circle.
He could not repair his arrow. The most he could do was to remove vane and fluke to be used later when he could fashion another shaft. He was carefully doing just that, marveling at the wastefulness of dwarves, when he became aware of Aragorn's approach.
Aragorn sat, watching his friend at work. "You are quite the fletcher, mellonin."
"A warrior must know how to care for his weapons if he is to be effective."
"As a warrior, you have always been much more than 'effective'."
Legolas smiled. "You did not seek me out to compliment my skills as fletcher or warrior, Estel. What is it you wish?"
Aragorn considered the question, and for a moment, allowed his heart to speak. "Aníron Imladris na." (I wish to be in Rivendell.)
Legolas smiled. "Leiest ah Arwen Undomiel. But that is not why you wish to talk to me."
(You wish to be with Arwen.)
"Anírach i dulu nín?" (Do you need my help?)
Legolas looked away. "Ú-chenion." (I do not understand.)
"Legolas, I know what troubles you. If you need to talk, I am here."
"I know. I do not wish to dwell on the past."
Aragorn studied his friend's profile. "Legolas, what happened to you was..."
"It happened a long time ago, Estel. I do not wish to talk about it." Legolas dared not look in his friend's eyes.
Aragorn was about to press the point when, to his surprise, Gimli stepped forward. "Elfwhat meant you by your words?"
"Which words were they? For I know many and they have various meanings."
Gimli grumbled for a moment as though the elf's words were the most irritating he had ever heard. "If you have accusations to make against Gloin, I would know of them!"
"I make no accusations. As Gloin's feud is with Thranduil, so my own ire is solely Gloin's. I have no quarrel with you, Gimli."
"Ah!" A triumphant smile lit the dwarf's face. "There you see the elven mind at work!" He spoke loudly so that all their company could hear. "He warns me not to hold a grudge against Thranduil for what that Elven King did to my father, yet he feels no compunction to hold himself to the same standard!"
"I do hold myself to the same standard."
"You lie!"
"You misunderstand!"
Gandalf appeared as if by magic in the center of their small camp. "Perhaps, Legolas, you can explain to Gimli's satisfaction."
"Satisfaction? I think not." Legolas looked at Gandalf and realized he had held his tongue and kept his privacy as long as he was able. The Fellowship should not be hindered by a feud he and Gimli seemed more than capable of perpetuating.
The Wizard gave the slightest of nods, knowing and understanding the need Legolas had to keep this memory to himself, or rather, from himselfhidden away deep below the surface, but also believing the Fellowship might yet help him through this dark trial.
Legolas dropped his eyes for a moment then looked back up at the Istar giving a small nod of his own. He then turned his attention to the dwarf who stood before him. "I will tell my tale as you have asked, Gimli, but I ask you to remember that you have asked it of me. I would just as gladly allow you the bliss of ignorance."
"Dwarves are not ignorant!"
Gandalf stepped forward, his irritation plain in face and voice. "All creatures are ignorant of something, Gimli!" He gestured for everyone to take a seat and listen to Legolas' story.
Legolas turned his attention inward briefly, gathering his resolve to look into the very memories he had tried so hard to suppress since that moment on Caradhras when Frodo had announced they would go through the mines. Thoughts of Frodo brought another fear to mind. "Gimli, your resentment of my people is natural, and I am only gladdened that Frodo does not bear me the same ill will." He looked across the camp to Frodo, his eyes pleading for this to be true. He would hate to think the Hobbit would resent him, for certainly that would cost him four friends, not just one.
"I don't understand, Legolas. Why would I be angry with you?" Frodo was bewildered by the very thought.
"Bilbo received the same harsh treatment as Gloin in my father's kingdom, imprisoned for the sake of a few baubles that had not yet even caught my father's eye so much as his mind."
"Not quite the same, as Bilbo got away and got them out again, and it has always made such a wonderful tale! Besides, you didn't do it, Legolas."
The elf smiled. "No, I did not." He looked again at Gimli who sat stiffly next to Gandalf. "A year or so after Bilbo, Gloin, and the rest of their company escaped from the Mirkwood dungeons, I was riding towards the Misty Mountains. I was alone, having just come from a brief visit to Imladris"
**
FLASHBACK
Legolas rode towards home in no great hurry. His visit to Imladris had been as eventful as usual with Estel, Elrohir, and Elladan occupying much of his time and attention. The three elves and one human had enjoyed each other's company as always, and he had been reluctant to leave, but he knew he had to go now, or risk being forced to stay until after winter. Though he knew he would be welcome to stay, he also knew his father expected him home.
Two days into the journey, Legolas had slowed his horse to drink in the beauty of his surroundings when he heard voices. They spoke quickly and softly as if afraid to be overheard. Legolas drew his horse to a halt and listened more intently straining his elven hearing to its limits. There–off to the right. He dismounted and crept through the trees. A short distance away there stood eight dwarves. The sight surprised him. He had imagined dwarves rarely left their caves and minessomewhat like orcs, or so his father would have him believe. He was now on the edge of his father's realm, and, though within his rights to demand they leave Mirkwood, Legolas would never have done such a thing unless he knew they meant harm either to the trees or to the Woodland Elves.
Just as he had decided to go on and leave the dwarves behind, he heard a sound behind him. He whirled around to face the new threat even as his hands moved to his quiver and bow. He paused, arrow drawn but not yet nocked and looked down at a dwarf still a distance away. That brings the total to nine, he thought, realizing the original eight he had seen had not moved. Wary, but not yet afraid for his life, Legolas spoke to the dwarf. "Greetings. How came you all to Mirkwood?"
The dwarf glared at Legolas, axe at the ready, and took several steps forward. He studied the elf's lithe figure, his eyes returning again and again to the bow the elf held. "Drop your weapons, elf, and come with me."
"I will not." Legolas would never willingly disarm himself.
"I have but to shout for my friends and they will come."
"As do I." Legolas hoped his lie would go undiscovered. He was not about to admit to being alone. Let the dwarf think the treetops were crawling with elves.
The smile that spread across the diminutive creature's face proved he knew Legolas had lied. "You will drop your weapons, Elf!" He said the last word as though it was a curse, and Legolas did not doubt that, to him, it was.
While the elf considered his options, he heard again a sound behind him. He moved slightly to his right, trying to keep both the new threat and the old visible, but with no one to watch his back, and nine dwarves scattered about, he knew it was only a matter of time before they surrounded him.
His wait was shortened as the newly arrived dwarf called to his comrades. "Come! See what Kulin has found!"
The heavy sound of stomping feet assailed Legolas' ears. He considered trying to race up the tree that stood not five feet away, but the lowest branches were too high above his head and too awkward to reach from his position. Still, he had to try something before they reached him. He took a steadying breath, and dashed for the tree only to feel something strike the back of his head. He fell senseless to the blanket of leaves that covered the ground.
End Flashback
**
"You're saying the dwarves attacked you unprovoked? I will not listen to such nonsense! You must have done something!" Gimli crossed his arms in irritation, glaring at the elf.
"Gimli, you asked me to tell you this. If you would prefer not to know it, I will gladly keep it to myself."
"Do let him finish, Gimli!" Pippin pleaded. "It reminds me of Bilbo's tales."
Aragorn was staring at his friend. He remembered the visit Legolas had mentioned, but knowing what was to come did not make it easier to hear. Besides, he had often thought that he had heard a less than accurate version of the tale. Legolas had a habit of making his own hurts seem less than they were. It would be best for Legolas if this retelling could be quickly over. "Gimli, if you have no wish to hear the rest," Aragorn said speaking as softly as Legolas had, "Then please have the courtesy to allow the rest of us to hear it." He gestured for Legolas to continue.
**
Flashback
Legolas could hear them talking. Harsh dwarven voices discussed what to do with him. He waited, listening to their plans trying to assess his situation. His head throbbed from the blow they'd given him. His hands were so tightly bound behind his back that he'd lost all feeling in them. His shoulders ached from the awkward position, and the familiar weight of his bow and quiver was gone from his back. He was near his home, but not yet near enough that a casual patrol might find him. He paused as he heard the arguing start anew.
"I say we leave him where he is. Let them find him like this. He will surely tell them it was dwarves who did this to him! We will have gotten back at that drunkard king for what he did and he will cause us no further trouble."
Legolas almost moaned. These dwarves had some history with his fathersomething that made them want to make an example of him. From the sound of their voices, he could tell that they formed a rough circle around him, probably staring down at his prone, motionless form as they debated his immediate fate.
More suggestions were bandied about ranging from tying him to a tree to tossing him into the river. One voice, one that Legolas had not yet heard, raised above the others. "I think we should first question this elf. Find out who he is and where he was going. He was heading towards Mirkwood, not away from it. Perhaps he is visiting from Rivendell or just passing through. I would have my revenge on Thranduil mean something. If this elf is not from his palace, he might not ever be told what happens here tonight."
The dwarves all agreed, and Legolas wondered if they were simply going to wait for him to awaken. As soon as the thought formed in his head, a great splash of icy cold water doused his body. He tried to sit up more from the shock of it than the temperature, but with his body so awkwardly bound he merely rolled about blinking as water streamed down his face and into his eyes. He shook his head trying to clear away some of the excess and heard the dwarves' laughter.
"So you are now awake, Elf! Tell us who you are."
"Pedich i lam edhellen?" Legolas asked trying to give himself time to come up with some strategy. He could not tell them who he was. Things would quickly escalate out of his controlnot that they were anywhere within his control at the moment. (Do you speak elvish?)
"Speak Westron, Elf!"
"Perhaps he is too stupid to speak the Common Tongue."
"He spoke it earlier."
"Maybe the blow to the head damaged his delicate elven brain!" Loud guffaws and chortles greeted that happy speculation.
Legolas, still lying on the ground, found himself in the odd position of looking up at dwarves. He tried to determine who was in charge.
"Gerin tol od Imladris. Legolas i eneth nín." He'd given his own name, but he doubted they knew Thranduil had a son at all let alone one by the name Legolas. He doubted they knew enough Elvish to determine from what he'd said that Legolas was his name. (I have come from Imladris. My name is Legolas.)
"Speak plainly, elf!" The dwarf in front of him demanded impatiently pulling back his leg and kicking Legolas in the ribs. The blow was powerful. The pain incredible, yet Legolas could tell he'd pulled it at the last minute to keep from seriously injuring his captive. They did not mean to kill him, but they were not above mistreating him.
Legolas glared up at the dwarf refusing to speak. It was the glare that cost him. The dwarf who had kicked him, took a step closer and squinted at the elf, bound and wet at his feet. In a moment, he began to chuckle. The chuckle grew to a hearty laugh. His companions stared at the dwarf, wondering what had happened. When he didn't stop to explain himself, they began to demand it of him.
"What is it, Gloin?"
"Oh, come on! Out with it!"
"What do you find so amusing?"
Gloin pointed at Legolas. "That face! That look! The stern and irritating glare of this elf is identical to Thranduil's! We have the vile king's kin in our hands! The whelp is undoubtedly the king's son!"
Legolas held his tongue. He did not want to make matters worse, though he imagined the dwarves would prefer to embarrass him rather than cause him any permanent damage.
"Are you, whelp? Are you Thranduil's son?" Gloin kicked him again, still pulling it back a bit, but allowing the blow to hit harder than the last time.
The prince decided to keep talking elvish as it seemed to upset them. "Im Legolas Thranduilion."
Gloin glared at him. "We know who you are. So you might as well speak Westron, boy."
The pretense was not helping so he decided it would be best to give it up since the dwarf was pulling back his leg to let loose another kick. With luck, they would leave him as he was as a lesson of sorts to his father. He could still call to his horse and walk out of here. "I am no boy. I am Legolas, son of Thranduil, Prince of Mirkwood."
"I knew you were, lad. I knew you were. You look just like that haughty father of yours." Gloin looked at his companions. "Let's teach the lad–and his father–a lesson. We should return the kindness he showed to me when I was a 'guest' at his palace!" The dwarf stepped forward and moved as if to grab Legolas.
Though Legolas' hands were tied, his spirit was not. The prince swept his long legs outward and tripped the dwarf. Gloin fell hard landing with a thud. Legolas kept his satisfaction to himself only allowing his captors to see anger and defiance on his face.
Legolas, outnumbered and bound, soon lost the fight.
End Flashback
**
"Oh, this is too much! The innocent elfling caught by the vicious dwarves! What other tales can you tell? Maybe you could try one closer to the truth the next time!"
"Gimli, I will not have you interrupt him again." Gandalf glared at the dwarf allowing his own not inconsiderable might to penetrate his words. Gimli nodded and was silent.
Aragorn glared at the dwarf and would have added his own words to the discussion if Pippin had not spoken first.
"What did they do, Legolas?" Pippin leaned forward, arms wrapped around his legs enraptured with the story.
"I think I should begin the next part of the tale." Gandalf sighed, as he lit his pipe and began to speak.
**
Flashback
Gandalf the Grey sat on his horse singing a traveling song to himself. He had had a strange urge a day or so earlier to head off in this general direction, and he knew better than to ignore such feelings. He'd packed enough food and water for several weeks, and had ridden, sometimes slowly, sometimes with great speed, allowing whim to choose his direction and swiftness. In this way he soon covered quite a bit of ground– some of it twice.
For some reason, he'd been thinking quite a bit about Bilbo Baggins and the trip the Hobbit had made last year. Someone somewhere was trying to tell him something, and he was quite weary of it. Sometimes, he wished signs would be clearly written in Westron in letters two Hobbit's-feet high rather than just being a bit of an inclination to move to the left or right at a cantor or a gallop.
As he traveled, he found himself in Mirkwood, and an unease settled on him. This, then, was where he was needed. He slowed again to a gentle walk speaking softly to his steed to calm his fears. The growing evil that permeated Mirkwood seemed stronger each year. Thranduil and his people tried to keep it back, but there was only so much they could do.
Oddly, when his thoughts turned towards Thranduil's people, he felt a presence to his left. In moments, one of Mirkwood's patrols stepped before him.
"Mae govannen, Mithrandir!" Amrod stepped lightly to Gandalf's side. "What brings you to Mirkwood?" (Well met, Gandalf.)
"I know not, Amrod Culnámo. I go where I am needed, and I feel I must be here."
Amrad frowned. "Your words are not unexpected, but I like not their portent, Mithrandir."
"Why? What has happened?"
"King Thranduil has sent many patrols out to search for Prince Legolas. He is late back from Imladris."
Gandalf knew this was why he was here. He spoke long to Amrod, and soon found himself joining in the search. He moved off towards the opposite end of Mirkwood from whence the elven group had appeared. He rode swiftly pushed to speed by some inner guide. He had a feeling he would be too late.
End Flashback
To be continued
Darcy Took: Thank you for your kind words. I love to write and won't stop so long as I still have ideas!
slightly-psychotic: Thank! I'm trying to post as quickly as I can. I'm glad you agree about what I said concerning the relationships between characters in the books and the movies. I've always wanted more, and I guess a lot of people do as well, judging by the number of posts to LOTR on faniction.net!
Old Soul: Well, I don't intentionally leave each chapter as a cliffie, but I guess I have a sense for the dramatic. Hee! Don't worry. They won't all beat least I don't think so! LOL!
Skye: Thank you! I'll try to post quicker!
Tinania Lindaleriel: I based the bit with Legolas waking up on the thought that if a frazzled elf were startled out of sleep in surroundings he considered dangerous, he might be dangerous as well!
White Wolf: Thanks! That was my thought, too. There was so much not explored in the book and movie! (Also, please don't keep me waiting for the next chapter of The Wrong Path. Any of you other readers who haven't read that storywhat are you waiting for? Go there now!)
Lirenel: I promise all will be revealed!
MoroTheWolfGod: I'm not telling!
Karri: Thank you! It means a lot, especially since I like your stories so much. (I'm looking forward to the next chapter of The Bitterness of Mortality!)
Neko: Ah, yes! Gimli's reactions! It might not be what you expect.
Daisy Brambleburr: Thank you, I will!
ElvenEyes: Not to worry! I don't write 'character death' stories. If they didn't die in the book, they won't die in my fics. (Even Haldir lives in my fics!)
Andmetwen: YES! Adding this story to your favorites list is actually a wonderful incentive!!! Thank you!!
Ryoko, Ash, BassClarElf, Tinnuial, Crazy Elf, Angel of Death, Me, Tamara, Lirenel: Thank you!
MysticalMagic: Thanks! I've gotten a lot of positive feedback about the friendship between Legolas and Boromir. I'm glad that so many people like that!
Ivory Novelist: Thanks! I've always preferred long chapters myself. Again, I'll try to cut down on the cliffies.
Lamiel: Oh! I can't wait to read your story. Please let me know when it's posted! The Elvish looks impressive, but I have no idea if it's right. I rely heavily on books and website references, and for all I know everything I've written is elvish gibberish. Like, for instance, in the film, Arwen says "Im Arwen." Meaninh I am Arwen. The books I have contradict this! I wish there was some definitive source! If anyone knows of one, let me know!
Alexa: Me, too! Boromir and Legolas didn't have a lot to do in the book. I'm trying to keep them busy.
Well, I promise to post the next chapter as soon as possible. I don't want to keep you all waiting too long! I'm thrilled that you're enjoying this! Keep reading and reviewing!
