Landslide
By Nekomegami_chan
nekomegami_chan@hotmail.com
Before we get started, I'd like to take the time to reply to a number of the comments made in everyone's reviews. I don't know about all of you, but it just makes you feel good when an author you like responds to you personally. ^ ^
Tania: Thanks for being my first reviewer!! And this really /is/ a fun pairing, isn't it?
Vardalothwen: Don't worry! I won't kill our dear Legolas! After all, it's so much more fun to torture him, right? *evil giggle*
Lady of Legolas: I'm glad you're enjoying this fic so much! You've reviewed every chapter so far. Thank you and I hope that you continue to read and be entertained by my humble writings! ^ ^
Freddie Loves Frodo: Thanks for that great compliment! If you still like this fic maybe you could pass it on to a friend? *Wink* *Nudge* As you know, I'm a sucker for any and all criticisms and feedback!
Stardust: I'm glad you like my writing style. And I do try very hard to make the dialogue true to the books. To be honest, it's hard but I think that the overall effect is well worth it.
Renn: Wow! You're so generous in your reviews. Thankies! But don't worry, not only is Elladan going but he gets half a chapter of angst all to himself!
Goddess of Death: I'm so happy you think my fic is cute. But I wouldn't have thought of it in that term myself. But my goal was to write a slash fic that was as realistic as possible. I wanted to create a story with a believable couple; two masculine figures with three dimensional personalities who sincerely love one another. I also wanted to represent the fact that before they were lovers they were friends. Not just that, however, I knew that I had to make it realistic in that not everyone in the fic is homosexual. That just isn't likely, no matter how many reviews love triangles and multiple pairings may get me.
Having said that, watch out for low key hints of a Glorfindel/Elrond - that pairing is beginning to grow on me!
Sorry for the rant and now - to the fic!
Chapter V
So, take this
love and take it down
Year and if you climb a mountain and you turn around
And if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills
Well the landslide brought me down
Legolas' knees gave out for the third time in as many steps, and this time he could not gain his feet again. Exhausted and shivering, Legolas came to the realization that he could push his body no further. He dragged himself a few paces to his left so that he could rest his back against a moss and frost encrusted boulder. Panting for breath, he slowly took in his surroundings.
It was not long after midday, but the grey cloaked sky and the thick mesh of branches imposed an early twilight on the forest floor. There was only the slightest dusting of snow on the frozen ground beneath the trees. Birds chirped in a cacophony of tiny wordless voices, searching for food and squirrel hair to fill their nests. Rabbits cautiously made appearances from their narrow dirt tunnels, noses twitching wildly.
"It's a good thing that good Sam Gamgee isn't here, little friend," he said. "Coney stew is his favorite meal." Talking made Legolas cough, sharpening the ache in his broken bones and abused flesh.
He had begun developing a fever sometime in the night. His clothes had dried on his body as he traveled though wet spots clung to his skin from where he had fallen. His leggings and tunic were stiff and offered little warmth. He dared not light a fire. Still, the second night spent wounded in the wilderness had left him shivering and ill. The snow had fallen only lightly that evening. However, the bushy shrubbery that had been his hiding place had afforded little shelter from the biting wind.
The rabbits slowly hopped away, joining their fellows further down the narrow dirt track Legolas traveled. The elf poured the last of the dark and fiery dwarven spirits into his mouth and rested his head back against the boulder. He would rest for a short time and then move on.
He knew Elrohir would be searching for him by now. He simply had to find the main road that ran through this forest and follow it back towards Imladris. The Valar willing, someone friendly would come upon him before long.
* * *
Gentle pink and red split across the periwinkle sky like wine on blue silk. "Odd that a day so wrought with sorrow should begin so softly," Glorfindel murmured to himself. The ancient elf's eyes turned to the huddled form of Elrohir.
The twin sat quietly, uncharacteristically anxious. His lips set in a tight line; he laced and re-laced his boots. His slender fingers moved with the mechanical stiffness of a weaver's loom. Elladan was behind his brother, braiding the raven hair. He carefully tucked each strand into placed, trying vainly to comfort through the tender touch. When the plaits were complete, the elder twin simply stroked the dark head and kneaded at the tight muscles in Elrohir's neck and shoulders.
Elrohir finally abandoned the boot laces. He spoke quietly, his words for his twins ears alone. "Elladan. In mere moments I will be abandoning the love of my immortal life." He turned around to face his brother. "The grief I have so long feared will come to pass."
Elladan said nothing. He clutched Elrohir to his chest, cradling him protectively. The eternal light the silver-grey eyes was fading. The sight had been enough to move Elladan to the brink of tears. "We shall find him," he whispered with fierce determination. "Do not give up hope, brother! We need only return for provisions. And the guards of Mirkwood search also, as do the March wardens of Lorien. Nay, do not give up hope! The grief that is father's will not be yours to bear!"
Elrohir only heaved a sigh that was interrupted by a dry sob. No matter what Elladan had said the previous day. It was his fault entirely that Legolas had fallen into bad fortune. His own pride had caused the visions he had seen to come to pass. His heart wept in mourning, though no tears fell.
After Elladan's speech the twins sat in silence for long moments until Glorfindel unobtrusively approached. "It is time to depart," he said, his silver voice floating through the dissipating morning mist. He had given them as much time as possible. The others had long since mounted and made ready to move out. The horses' breath steamed from their nostrils like a dragon's smoky exhalations. The only sounds in the white-swept forest were those of the black crows stirring in their nests and the occasional shift of a heavy equine body in deep snow.
Elrohir kissed Elladan's high cheek; the wolf fur of his brother's cloak collar brushed his chin. Then he stood and went to mount his horse. Arod sensed his distress and laid his head across Elrohir's lap. A faint smile ghosted past the elf's dusky pink lips and he scratched the broad forehead.
Glorfindel placed one hand on Elladan's shoulder as their mounts were passed to them. The younger elf was sure the blond Eldar meant to speak, but no sound escaped him. Then Glorfindel was astride Asfaloth and the big grey was striding to the fore of the party to join Elrond there.
Elladan's mind was a chaotic torrent of emotion. What had Glorfindel wanted to say but could not? Had the seneschal's hand on his shoulder been meant to offer strength or condolence?
* * *
Elladan glanced over at his twin as they rode. He noticed, not for the first time, his brother's increasingly pale complexion. Neither of them had ever been particularly ruddy and this new pallor worried him. Worse, Elrohir's manner was listless and he swayed ever so slightly in the saddle. He had long since abandoned his reins and stirrups in favor of absently petting his mare and Arod.
Shifting his weight, Elladan slowed his gelding so that his brother would come up alongside him. "Are you well? Would you like to stop and rest?" he inquired though he knew the answer.
"I am well, thank you. I don't need to rest."
Elladan's hand hovered near Elrohir's where it rested on Arod's neck. Yet he never touched the gloved fingers. Instead he retreated to his own body space and suppressed a shiver. Elven grief was a palpable thing and it coursed through him now. It radiated from his brother in waves like heat from an oven, twisting around him in sinuous coils to squeeze his broken heart.
Elladan prayed to the Valar that Legolas would be found alive. He cared deeply for the blond prince, it was true. However, his brother was the one person whom he could not live without.
He had been feeling the lure of the sea for several years now and yet he had remained for Elrohir's sake. He knew his brother to be still very much in love with Arda and its people, and his dearest wish was to see his brother happy. Since Elladan's only love interest had traveled to Valinor half a century before, he had dedicated his remaining time in Middle Earth to his family.
His thoughts drifted to her, Surinen called The Elegant. She was tall and strong and as cunning as she was womanly. Elladan had fancied her for centuries before he had had the courage to express his interest. Over time their affection for one another had grown, but before he could make known to her his deepening feelings for her she had announced her impending departure. With many promises of loyalty to one another they had parted. Now Surinen waited patiently for his arrival.
Yet when their sister had taken on the burden of mortality in order to be with Estel, Elladan had strengthened his resolve to remain so long as Arwen lived. He suffered bouts of the one and only elvish "disease" from time to time, when affairs at Imladris occasionally slowed from their frantic pace. However, hose times were becoming increasingly frequent as more of his people sailed to the West. Even now, as he was reminded of it he felt the stirring in his blood that marked his affliction.
Somewhere beside him as if from a great distance, Elladan heard Elrohir make a small noise. It was a barely audible moan, there was no mistaking that. Elladan's gaze sought his brother once more. His twin's cheeks were damp with tiny silver tear tracks that welled up from the edges of his eyes. Eyes that were hazy and unfocused, yet moved as if following something through the bushes on the side of the path they traveled. Elladan knew not if his brother saw visions or simply dreamt of memories. Either way he began to sing softly, his voice moving with the rolling rhythm of their horse's footfalls.
His sea-longing forgotten, Elladan rode on.
* * *
It was nearing mid afternoon when the scouts reported riders ahead on the road near the edge of the forest. Beneath the shadow dappled canopy of the overhanging evergreens the party from Rivendell came upon a contingent of elves wearing the colours and dress of Greenwood the Great, once called Mirkwood and now restored. "Hail!" called Glorfindel as Elrond ordered a halt.
"Hail!" came the reply. It was a regal elf with cropped golden hair who had returned the greeting. He was taller than most, his broad back straight as the arrows carried there. The fair head was held high, but the almond eyes were weary.
"Well met, King Thranduil," Elrond said, inclining his head as the Greenwood elves drew nearer.
"What news of Prince Legolas, my Lord?" Elrohir roused himself from his memories and angled closer.
"I could ask the same of you," Thranduil returned coldly. He purposely left out name and title in response to the young elf's rude behaviour.
The slight was ignored by all present and forgotten completely as soon as Elrond spoke again. "We had found signs of a fight and an avalanche further into the mountains this very morning."
"Did you dig at all?" Elrohir asked.
"Nay," the thin elf from Greenwood denied. "The drifts were too deep and the mountain too steep. To dig might well have initiated another landslide."
"But what if he had been there?" Elrohir's brief surge of hope was swiftly melting into despair once more.
Thranduil shook his head. "Our hounds searched the area and the only scent they found was at least two days old. However, there was bloody snow under a pine tree at the bottom of the avalanche and our dogs assured us that it was that of my son."
"Why did you not say this before? Mayhap he was carried off by foul orcs after he was wounded!" Elrohir interrupted again.
"Peace brother," Elladan cautioned.
King Thranduil eyed the twins and continued smoothly. "Legolas is above all a warrior. As such he will always fight to survive," he declared with pride. "We discovered that a tree branch had been severed and stripped of its needles. The tree whispered of the blond elf it had sheltered and expressed protective feelings towards the one it had sacrificed its branch for. Legolas is on the move, or was. Unfortunately any other indications as to his whereabouts were lost due to the more recent snowfall. The noses of our dogs have led us thus far. I believe he is still trying to reach Imladris."
"Then let us continue at once! He may yet be nearby!" Elladan felt life stir in his deadened breast.
The unknown elf who had spoken before shook his head. He pointed to the hounds that sat near his horses' hooves. "They lost the scent going through the creek two leagues southwest from here. We picked up the road hoping that Legolas would have sought the path of least resistance, despite the openness of it."
Glorfindel met Elrond's dark eyes then nodded sagely.
"Aye," said the Lord of Rivendell. "He'll know we'll be searching for him. Let us hope that our speculations are so, for Legolas is oft unpredictable at best."
* * *
Panting with pain he gathered his determination around him once again and stepped onto the well maintained highway. He was relieved to find fresh horse manure, such a sign meant that the road had been used recently and substantially increased his chance of being rescued.
The deer path Legolas had been following had unexpectedly taken him much further along the main road to Imladris than he had anticipated. Perhaps it was his fever muddled brain that had caused him to miss the more direct track he had intended to use. Catching his bearings he noticed the subtle elven mile marker and was surprised to find that he was less than half a day's walk from Rivendell.
He smiled, and grit his teeth. The worst was soon to be over.
* * *
Have no fear this fic is far from done!
More lovely angst to come!
Thanks for reading but please review!
Or else I'll have to hurt you!
Just kidding of course! Luv you all, l8r!
