Footsteps to Rivendell

A Sequel to Golden Leaves of Lórien

By Ellwyn Phoenix

(Email to: jidai_rinoa@hotmail.com)

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Chapter Five: Footsteps to Lothlórien

The soft sound of footfalls in the wild grass reached his ears. Somewhere far away he could hear wind whispering in trees. But ahead, no wind dared reach the still forest. He could see spears of light penetrating into the woods beyond the trees that fringed the border. Everything was silent, and still as if in a dream.

And it was a dream to Legolas. His hands were stained black with dirt and the blood of orcs. His tunic was spattered and worn, his quiver empty. After the long darkness of the mines there was nothing more he wanted than to escape into the open, and wander through the trees. But when Aragorn had proclaimed that they seek refuge in Lothlórien, Legolas' heart stopped in his throat.

He was running towards the golden woods now, the halflings struggling to keep up behind him, and Aragorn leading the way. There was nothing he could do to avoid going there.

The unspeakable terror he had felt at the creature of fire and shadow was more than he could handle. No creature of Mordor could make him shiver as much as he did then, nor the haunting spirits of mortals. The only thing he feared more than the Balrog was Sauron. But he did not fear Sauron himself—he feared what the dark lord was capable of doing to the beautiful lands he knew so well. That terror, and the too-recent grief at watching Mithrandir fall into darkness, hampered his mind. And yet the events of the previous month seemed almost irrelevant.

He wanted more than anything now to rest in the shade and ethereal beauty of the woods before him. But there were things that already stirred in him, even before he had set foot inside Lórien.

He could nearly hear the laughter of the Elves in the heart of the forest. He could nearly see the silver light cascading onto staircases, archways, groves, he could nearly feel the clear water running over his hands.

And he could hear her ringing laughter chorusing in with the others, he could see the silver light illuminating her features, making her dark eyes light up. He could feel her waist and her hand like that night he had danced with her, he could feel her body pressed against his as he kissed her.

But then he could also feel the poignant sting in his cheek. And see the pain wrought on her face, the tears making rivers down her cheeks.

If only there was some way I could avoid that place.

But she might not be there, he told himself. She lives in Rivendell, no doubt happily married to that elf, whoever he is.

All the same, there was too much pain in that place. Legolas was afraid that the second he saw the city, he would break down and weep. He wondered what the dwarf would think of him then. He nearly chuckled at himself despite the pain welling up in his chest as they neared the forest.

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A chill wind blew up the valley and endless rustling of leaves could be heard. "Lothlórien… Alas that it is winter…" Legolas murmured under his breath. In the night the trees stood tall, arching over the road, forming a gold-grey shadow.

Soon they happened upon a stream that swirled into the waters of the Silverlode. Legolas knew the stream meant that they were soon approaching the city of the Elves, and his heart lay beating in his throat. "Nimrodel…so many songs in its mellow waters…the voice of Nimrodel." He began humming under his breath as the company followed him and waded through the stream.

An Elven-maid there was of old,

a shining star by day…

As they continued onward Legolas let his eyes drink in every bit of the forest. The wind no longer coursed through these woods as it had so many years before in torment. Now, the wood was peaceful in its age. Leaves crunched under his feet and he couldn't help but feel that that was his heart being crushed under his footsteps.

Beside the falls of Nimrodel,

by water clear and cool,

her voice as falling silver fell into the shining pool…

Where she wanders none can tell,

in sunlight or in shade…

They finally chanced upon a cluster of trees with thick, grey trunks. Legolas looked up then looked to the others. "I will climb up," he said, "I am at home among the trees. Those these are like none I have seen before…save in song, they are called mellyrn."

"Whatever it may be," Pippin spoke up, "they will be marvelous trees if they can offer any rest at all. Maybe the birds—I can't sleep on a perch!"

"Then dig a hole in the ground." Legolas smiled albeit bitterly and jumped lithely to catch a branch above his head.

But just as he did so, a voice spoke sharply above him. "Daro!" it exclaimed. Legolas dropped back to the earth in astonishment. The hobbits looked up in wonder and fear. Legolas whispered hastily, "Do not move or speak!"

"Who are they?"

"They're Elves," Sam replied matter-of-factly, "can't you hear their voices?"

Legolas' breath quickened and he grew wary as the elves began dropping from the branches above and surrounded them. The elves immediately aimed bow and arrow at them, and within a few moments they were completely encircled by the elven archers.

The dark made it increasingly difficult to see, but Legolas could discern that there were nearly twelve elves in all.

Suddenly one of the elves caught his attention. It was so dark that he could not see the features of the elf, but Legolas continued to peer at the elf. The elf was standing at his right side, and his arrow was aimed at his head. Legolas forced himself to look away.

"Haldir of Lórien," Aragorn spoke up suddenly, "we are in need of rest and sanctuary. Please, we come without threat."

An elf Legolas did not recognize stepped forward and nodded to the others to lower their bows.

Legolas turned again to face the elf at his side. A stream of moonlight had managed to penetrate through the dense rooftop of leaves and silver light fell on the ground nearby. In the dim light, Legolas could finally perceive some of his features. But it wasn't a he, Legolas quickly discovered. The dark green and black tunic, the elf shoes and the black leggings served as a disguise and under the cover of dark she could be mistaken easily for a male archer. But he was very certain that it was a she.

His stomach tightened and he stopped breathing suddenly. Unless he was mistaken…

The maiden was, she could be…

No, it wasn't her.

Wait. He peered at her again and saw the tenseness in her stance. She had not lowered her bow yet. It was now pointed at his chest. Legolas saw the trembling in her arm, the forced composure.

It was.

Her eyes met his, but only fleetingly. He could be mistaken, after all. It was very dark. But all the same, inwardly his mind was shouting that she was standing right next to him. After all he had gone through, to avoid her, after he had vowed to stay away from her for his entire life…

But he didn't want to, and he knew it. For the entire journey, though most of the time the present danger was all her could concentrate on, as they trudged through valleys or over mountains Legolas' thoughts had turned to her. And what he had decided to leave behind. There was nothing else to say but that he regretted his decision. Now, it seemed to him that he was getting another chance. Perhaps fate was intent on not allowing him to fulfill his decision.

He looked back up, and she looked away at the other members of the Fellowship. Legolas noticed the slight faltering in her stance.

He kept his face expressionless and refused to look at her. The Elf Haldir motioned for them to follow him and the remaining elves flanked them on the sides and rear. Legolas took his spot at the end of his companions. She was walking directly behind him.

He felt unbearably stiff, unable to focus on anything. If someone were to ask him where he was going at the time he would have replied with a meaningless mutter.

She was walking at his side and a little behind. Legolas finally brought up the courage to whisper, "Lyann," under his breath so that only she could hear. She did not turn or look up, just kept staring at the ground before them. "I'm sorry." His voice sounded far away to him. Legolas kept his head down.

She still wasn't replying. So he sucked up the pain welling in his chest and forced himself to walk silently. Her all too conspicuous presence at his side, though, was unnerving.

Finally, after what seemed like eternity, they reached the city of the elves. Legolas looked up at the silver light cascading onto the eaves of trees and staircases, his breath caught at the familiar scenery. It brought back so many memories.

The other elves flanking them began to disperse. Legolas' wanted to cry out when she too followed suit without a backward glance. She was calm. Too calm, too composed. Now he knew she had already noticed him, but was trying as hard as she could not to.

Aragorn was ascending a long winding staircase around the base of a tree. Legolas watched the uncertain hobbits follow, saw the heart-wrenchingly weary expressions on thei faces. He realized he must look the same, though less so. Even if he was an elf, at this moment he felt no more resilient than the other members of the Fellowship. He sighed.

Haldir led them up the stairs to an ethereally lighted platform where Galadriel and Celeborn were standing. Legolas bowed with the others and then stood.

The Lady's eyes scanned over the party, pausing on each member, and when they reached him, Legolas detected a change in her expression. She seemed almost sad in anticipation. Anxious. Galadriel, nevertheless, nodded faintly at him to show her recognition. Legolas' face was devoid of expression, contrary to the raging turmoil within. He took a deep breath and lowered his eyes.

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Disclaimer: Some excerpts were taken from The Fellowship of the Ring. This being a work of fanfiction, I never intended any infringement on J.R.R. Tolkien, Tolkien Enterprises, or the Saul Zaentz Co., or whatever else I'm missing…

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A/N: Sorry folks for the long wait; I had a homework crisis and a concert last weekend that took up about 8 hours of my precious homework time. So, no time left over for writing fanfiction. There may be another delay from this one to the next chapter, but I hope you guys can just read really slowly and I'll be writing as much as I have time for! Thanks.