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Chapter 44: Attempts
The next day Celebfaer went back to the same spot in the garden where she had first found Legolas, and seeing that he was there, she decided to make her first attempt. She had come up with a plan the night before and seeing as he had only given her six months, she was willing to put it into action as soon as she could.
"Master Greenleaf, now that you have been in Lothlorien, what are your thoughts on the fair wood?" She asked him walking over and going to sit by him.
"Since the Lady departed from it the trees have withered slightly and no longer hold the beauty that they once did."
"You do not know that for certain." She said, frowning and he nodded sadly.
"Indeed I do, Celebfaer. Gimli and I passed by there when we were journeying south to Minas Tirith." He said. "Her original beauty no longer stands because the Elf that kept her alive left."
"That is ill news indeed." She said, sadly, for she had wanted to go back to the Golden Wood but had not had the time on her way to Minas Tirith. Seeing as her first plan had been killed, she racked her brain for something else to say and a brief silence fell.
"Does Rivendell share the same fate?" She asked eventually. "Now that Lord Elrond has departed?"
"Nay, it does not. Or I believe it does not. Not all Elves left to sail across the sea and those that stayed are looking after Rivendell, gathering the last of the High Elves before they will then set sail. The lesser Elves will be in charge of looking after Rivendell. They wish for my father to go west soon, but I know not why he still dwells in the forest."
"Your father is a wise Elf, and he does things for his own reasons."
"My father needs to sail across the sea and be with the Higher Elves." Legolas said, looking up at her, a small flicker of anger in his eyes. "I think that he should hand Eryn Lasgalen over and take the journey, that I too must soon take. My father must take the journey before I though, for I do not wish to arrive at the heavens before he does." Legolas said, then he dropped his head once more to look into the pond. Staring beyond his own flawless reflection as though he was in deep thought.
"Maybe your father waits for one of his sons to be wedded so that Eryn Lasgalen can have a Queen once more and then seeing his sons happy he may be happy with himself and decide to set sail." She said softly, wondering what sort of a reaction it would get.
"Well it shall have to be my brother that inherits the throne, for I am too tired to wed an Elf. The sea calls, and my father will not accept any to wed me unless there has been a 50 year courtship, as is custom in Mirkwood." He said riveting back to calling the wood what he had called it for almost three thousand years, and Celebfaer sighed.
"Legolas, can you look at me and tell me that you feel nothing, in that poor shrunken heart of yours, for me at all? Not even the slightest bit of love?" She finally asked him, loosing her cool. She was hurt by the harshness in his tone and wanted him to talk to her the way he used to. With the same passion that he used to, but everything he said was cold and emotionless, so it was almost like talking to a corpse.
Legolas looked at her, taking in all of her. Her curly, brown hair that cascaded down her back, that he had braided once or twice and she had taken out straight after he had done it, saying it was immoral for her to have such braids. Her dark brown eyes that would never look directly into his own eyes unless he made her, as though she was afraid of what she would see in his eyes. The chin that he had loved so much to touch because he knew it was as smooth as silk and once he cupped her face in his hands, he knew she would give him her full attention. Seeing her sitting there, he could not believe that it was indeed her and he felt a strange pain in his heart, that he had not felt before. It felt as though despite seeing her sitting there, he had already lost her.
"My heart breaks to look at you Celebfaer, but it breaks from loneliness not because it does not love you." He said light coming into his eyes and she smiled at him.
"There is hope for you yet, Legolas." She said.
"You do not understand. My heart still loves you but a deep cloud of sorrow is covering it and it is that cloud that needs to be lifted for me to be able to have any hope." He told her and then he sighed.
"But the light in your eyes is returning!" She said happily and he shrugged.
"Only because you talk of things that I was once passionate about."
She sighed this time then stood up. She had lost her patience and she glared at him. "Legolas, I am trying. Could you at least try and help me instead of killing every word I have said?" She asked and he did not answer, so she turned on her heel and stormed off.
Arwen had been watching for a few minutes what was going on between them and when Celebfaer walked away, she sighed. Legolas had told Aragorn of the quest Celebfaer had taken upon herself and then Aragorn had told Arwen. But Arwen knew that the quest was in vain because it appeared to her that Legolas no longer wanted to live. So, in order for Celebfaer to be able to cleanse him or help him she had to give him back some hope or will to live. It was the only way that he could be saved, or stopped from traveling to Valinor.
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Later that night, Arwen walked down to Celebfaer's room, hoping that she would be able to shed a little light on Legolas' condition. Knocking on the door, she waited to be told to enter before she walked into the room.
"Celebfaer......." She said and Celebfaer stood up then bowed to Arwen.
"My Lady." Celebfaer said and Arwen laughed.
"Celebfaer, we have been friends for almost two millennia, do not address me as though I am your Queen. You are not a lesser person." Arwen said and Celebfaer nodded.
"Nobility is still to be respected, Arwen."
"And you are nobility yourself. A Princess of the Fairy Realm which gives you no grounds to bow to me or me any grounds to ask it of you. A slight nod of the head will be sufficient Faer hen." She said and then they both laughed.
"Will you walk with me?" Arwen asked Celebfaer and she nodded, then walked out of her room, behind her old friend.
They went out into the gardens, to look at the stars and though they walked in silence for a little while, it was a comfortable silence. Eventually they stopped and Arwen broke the silence.
"Aragorn has been speaking to Legolas." Arwen said and Celebfaer turned to look at Arwen.
"What about?"
"You." She said, then she paused slightly. "Aragorn said that you were attempting to heal Legolas and help him recover from his current state." She added and Celebfaer nodded.
"I believe that it can be done. I just need to find the way and he is not helping." Celebfaer said, frowning deeply in her frustration.
"What do you mean?" Arwen asked, frowning also and Celebfaer sighed.
"Everything I say, I try to evoke a response in him, but nothing seems to work. I get the same emotionless response every time. It is almost as though he has given up hope and does not want to live anymore." She replied and Arwen nodded.
"That is what it is like. When an Elf dies of sorrow, they slowly begin to fade from the world. They give up their will to live and are unable to find a way to become happy again. That is their way, because an Elf is willing to give up everything they have for someone that they love. The love of an Elf is not easily gained and once gained it is never lost."
"He still loves me, I know it in my heart."
"He will love you until the day he takes his last breath, but in order for you to keep him alive, you must win back his heart. Give him a reason for living and he shall live, but the only way to do that is to make sure that he knows how much he loves you and that you return his love. Elves will lose all the passion that they once had, they become shells of their former selves. They are on the world in spirit, but their heart is lost and it is their heart that they live with. You must find a way to make him find his heart." Arwen said looking straight into Celebfaer's eyes, sadness in her face. "Few Elves are saved from sorrow, but those that are share a love that endures over eons of time. For the only one that can save an Elf from sorrow, is the one that they love." Arwen said and Celebfaer looked at her, curious now.
"Have you seen one be cured of their sorrow Arwen?" Celebfaer asked and Arwen sighed then nodded, slowly.
"It was I." Arwen said softly, then she looked up at Celebfaer again. "When, I gave up my mortality for Aragorn, the loss of my family and the choice to sail west to Valinor with them was more than I could bear. Though I am mortal now, when the sorrow first took me, I refused to look at Aragorn. I lost my will to live for I knew I would never see my brothers, my mother or even my father again. But Aragorn was persistent and eventually I regained my love for him and my will to live. Celebfaer, all you need is time." She said and Celebfaer sighed in response.
"I have little of it. He has given me but six months, or he shall sail west and I will have no say in the matter. As he says, I cannot follow him to Valinor." She said painfully, but Arwen smiled.
"Then make him regret any decision he may make of leaving."
"It is harder than I thought it would be."
A small silence fell and Arwen looked up at the stars once more. Celebfaer did also, but she could see no hope in the stars at all, so she looked down at the ground below her only to see a small pond. The pond was calm and her face was reflected back at her. Celebfaer did not like the worried look that she wore on her face, so she turned away, as Arwen spoke, breaking the silence.
"I beg you Celebfaer, do not let him diminish, for it is not his time yet." Arwen whispered so softly that Celebfaer barely heard it, then she inclined her head and walked from the gardens, leaving Celebfaer to think about what she had just said.
Celebfaer watched her walk away, then looked bleakly down into the pond, but her reflection had changed. This time she saw determination on her face. She would find a way to revive Legolas' heart and soul, or she would die trying.
Chapter 44: Attempts
The next day Celebfaer went back to the same spot in the garden where she had first found Legolas, and seeing that he was there, she decided to make her first attempt. She had come up with a plan the night before and seeing as he had only given her six months, she was willing to put it into action as soon as she could.
"Master Greenleaf, now that you have been in Lothlorien, what are your thoughts on the fair wood?" She asked him walking over and going to sit by him.
"Since the Lady departed from it the trees have withered slightly and no longer hold the beauty that they once did."
"You do not know that for certain." She said, frowning and he nodded sadly.
"Indeed I do, Celebfaer. Gimli and I passed by there when we were journeying south to Minas Tirith." He said. "Her original beauty no longer stands because the Elf that kept her alive left."
"That is ill news indeed." She said, sadly, for she had wanted to go back to the Golden Wood but had not had the time on her way to Minas Tirith. Seeing as her first plan had been killed, she racked her brain for something else to say and a brief silence fell.
"Does Rivendell share the same fate?" She asked eventually. "Now that Lord Elrond has departed?"
"Nay, it does not. Or I believe it does not. Not all Elves left to sail across the sea and those that stayed are looking after Rivendell, gathering the last of the High Elves before they will then set sail. The lesser Elves will be in charge of looking after Rivendell. They wish for my father to go west soon, but I know not why he still dwells in the forest."
"Your father is a wise Elf, and he does things for his own reasons."
"My father needs to sail across the sea and be with the Higher Elves." Legolas said, looking up at her, a small flicker of anger in his eyes. "I think that he should hand Eryn Lasgalen over and take the journey, that I too must soon take. My father must take the journey before I though, for I do not wish to arrive at the heavens before he does." Legolas said, then he dropped his head once more to look into the pond. Staring beyond his own flawless reflection as though he was in deep thought.
"Maybe your father waits for one of his sons to be wedded so that Eryn Lasgalen can have a Queen once more and then seeing his sons happy he may be happy with himself and decide to set sail." She said softly, wondering what sort of a reaction it would get.
"Well it shall have to be my brother that inherits the throne, for I am too tired to wed an Elf. The sea calls, and my father will not accept any to wed me unless there has been a 50 year courtship, as is custom in Mirkwood." He said riveting back to calling the wood what he had called it for almost three thousand years, and Celebfaer sighed.
"Legolas, can you look at me and tell me that you feel nothing, in that poor shrunken heart of yours, for me at all? Not even the slightest bit of love?" She finally asked him, loosing her cool. She was hurt by the harshness in his tone and wanted him to talk to her the way he used to. With the same passion that he used to, but everything he said was cold and emotionless, so it was almost like talking to a corpse.
Legolas looked at her, taking in all of her. Her curly, brown hair that cascaded down her back, that he had braided once or twice and she had taken out straight after he had done it, saying it was immoral for her to have such braids. Her dark brown eyes that would never look directly into his own eyes unless he made her, as though she was afraid of what she would see in his eyes. The chin that he had loved so much to touch because he knew it was as smooth as silk and once he cupped her face in his hands, he knew she would give him her full attention. Seeing her sitting there, he could not believe that it was indeed her and he felt a strange pain in his heart, that he had not felt before. It felt as though despite seeing her sitting there, he had already lost her.
"My heart breaks to look at you Celebfaer, but it breaks from loneliness not because it does not love you." He said light coming into his eyes and she smiled at him.
"There is hope for you yet, Legolas." She said.
"You do not understand. My heart still loves you but a deep cloud of sorrow is covering it and it is that cloud that needs to be lifted for me to be able to have any hope." He told her and then he sighed.
"But the light in your eyes is returning!" She said happily and he shrugged.
"Only because you talk of things that I was once passionate about."
She sighed this time then stood up. She had lost her patience and she glared at him. "Legolas, I am trying. Could you at least try and help me instead of killing every word I have said?" She asked and he did not answer, so she turned on her heel and stormed off.
Arwen had been watching for a few minutes what was going on between them and when Celebfaer walked away, she sighed. Legolas had told Aragorn of the quest Celebfaer had taken upon herself and then Aragorn had told Arwen. But Arwen knew that the quest was in vain because it appeared to her that Legolas no longer wanted to live. So, in order for Celebfaer to be able to cleanse him or help him she had to give him back some hope or will to live. It was the only way that he could be saved, or stopped from traveling to Valinor.
**************************
Later that night, Arwen walked down to Celebfaer's room, hoping that she would be able to shed a little light on Legolas' condition. Knocking on the door, she waited to be told to enter before she walked into the room.
"Celebfaer......." She said and Celebfaer stood up then bowed to Arwen.
"My Lady." Celebfaer said and Arwen laughed.
"Celebfaer, we have been friends for almost two millennia, do not address me as though I am your Queen. You are not a lesser person." Arwen said and Celebfaer nodded.
"Nobility is still to be respected, Arwen."
"And you are nobility yourself. A Princess of the Fairy Realm which gives you no grounds to bow to me or me any grounds to ask it of you. A slight nod of the head will be sufficient Faer hen." She said and then they both laughed.
"Will you walk with me?" Arwen asked Celebfaer and she nodded, then walked out of her room, behind her old friend.
They went out into the gardens, to look at the stars and though they walked in silence for a little while, it was a comfortable silence. Eventually they stopped and Arwen broke the silence.
"Aragorn has been speaking to Legolas." Arwen said and Celebfaer turned to look at Arwen.
"What about?"
"You." She said, then she paused slightly. "Aragorn said that you were attempting to heal Legolas and help him recover from his current state." She added and Celebfaer nodded.
"I believe that it can be done. I just need to find the way and he is not helping." Celebfaer said, frowning deeply in her frustration.
"What do you mean?" Arwen asked, frowning also and Celebfaer sighed.
"Everything I say, I try to evoke a response in him, but nothing seems to work. I get the same emotionless response every time. It is almost as though he has given up hope and does not want to live anymore." She replied and Arwen nodded.
"That is what it is like. When an Elf dies of sorrow, they slowly begin to fade from the world. They give up their will to live and are unable to find a way to become happy again. That is their way, because an Elf is willing to give up everything they have for someone that they love. The love of an Elf is not easily gained and once gained it is never lost."
"He still loves me, I know it in my heart."
"He will love you until the day he takes his last breath, but in order for you to keep him alive, you must win back his heart. Give him a reason for living and he shall live, but the only way to do that is to make sure that he knows how much he loves you and that you return his love. Elves will lose all the passion that they once had, they become shells of their former selves. They are on the world in spirit, but their heart is lost and it is their heart that they live with. You must find a way to make him find his heart." Arwen said looking straight into Celebfaer's eyes, sadness in her face. "Few Elves are saved from sorrow, but those that are share a love that endures over eons of time. For the only one that can save an Elf from sorrow, is the one that they love." Arwen said and Celebfaer looked at her, curious now.
"Have you seen one be cured of their sorrow Arwen?" Celebfaer asked and Arwen sighed then nodded, slowly.
"It was I." Arwen said softly, then she looked up at Celebfaer again. "When, I gave up my mortality for Aragorn, the loss of my family and the choice to sail west to Valinor with them was more than I could bear. Though I am mortal now, when the sorrow first took me, I refused to look at Aragorn. I lost my will to live for I knew I would never see my brothers, my mother or even my father again. But Aragorn was persistent and eventually I regained my love for him and my will to live. Celebfaer, all you need is time." She said and Celebfaer sighed in response.
"I have little of it. He has given me but six months, or he shall sail west and I will have no say in the matter. As he says, I cannot follow him to Valinor." She said painfully, but Arwen smiled.
"Then make him regret any decision he may make of leaving."
"It is harder than I thought it would be."
A small silence fell and Arwen looked up at the stars once more. Celebfaer did also, but she could see no hope in the stars at all, so she looked down at the ground below her only to see a small pond. The pond was calm and her face was reflected back at her. Celebfaer did not like the worried look that she wore on her face, so she turned away, as Arwen spoke, breaking the silence.
"I beg you Celebfaer, do not let him diminish, for it is not his time yet." Arwen whispered so softly that Celebfaer barely heard it, then she inclined her head and walked from the gardens, leaving Celebfaer to think about what she had just said.
Celebfaer watched her walk away, then looked bleakly down into the pond, but her reflection had changed. This time she saw determination on her face. She would find a way to revive Legolas' heart and soul, or she would die trying.
