Chapter 22: The Path To Healing
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*[ ]* - indicated the translation of the Elvish words into English.
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"It is wonderful to see you again, father."
Elrond nodded, a smile set in his features, "When Legede arrived with such distressing news, I feared the worst."
"Did he speak of the cause of such evil?" Aragorn asked as he and his father walked through the halls of Thranduil's palace.
"He told me enough." The Elf Lord looked to his adopted son, "Saruman's strength is waning and this he knows. It will not be long before a second strike upon these walls is implemented. Be wary of this, Aragorn. Evil has many forms, as you have rightly seen, and I fear Saruman will stop at nothing to achieve such power."
"But why would he so desire the magic of the Elves. Surely his own strength is greater than that of Thranduil's people?"
Elrond shook his head, "Nay, since the end of the war, Saruman's powers have dwindled, more so with each day. With the magic of protection about this place, he will be sure to have the strength to start yet another terrible war."
The man sighed, "Then perhaps I should speak with Legolas and see what he finds fit to do in this situation. Legede and my brothers have surely been keeping him company in my absence."
"Knowing your brothers, they most likely have driven the prince into fits of laughter by now." Elrond replied with a smile.
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"Elladan! I cannot believe you did such a thing!" Legolas cried, laughter beginning to set in.
The elder twin smirked, "Well, she did deserve it."
"Very true, Legolas. Arwen has always been the best of us and, well, it was only fit that we get her back for it."
"But to go so far as to do that to her clothes! She will be angry with you for a millennia!"
Elrohir laughed, "Come now, she knows it was all in good fun."
"Besides," Elladan put in, "It will teach her not to tell father when we have run off."
Legolas shook his head, "You were neglecting your duties, Elladan."
"That is beside the point!"
"No, it is precisely the point." the prince smiled, "She would not have said a word had you not gone off to Bree for a few weeks."
Elrohir shrugged, "We deserved a break. All this season it has been nothing but clean this and clean that. I swear that father was going to drive us mad before we finished!"
"No just mad." The other twin replied, "But out of our entire minds! It was sheer torture!"
Legolas laughed again, "Well, at least Lord Elrond has not found out about the clothes fiasco... right?"
Both twins looked at each other for a moment, swapping a glance.
"Well..." Elladan began.
Legolas fell back onto his pillow, "Do not tell me, all the chores you tried so hard to get out of were doubled?"
"Kind of..." Elrohir replied.
"Kind of? Then what was your punishment." Legolas asked, sitting up once more.
Both twins smirked, "To come with him on this little outing of course."
The prince gave Elrohir a hard stare, but could not keep the smile from his face as he burst into laughter.
"I was only joking, really." Elrohir replied, "We had to pay for Arwen's new wardrobe."
"Ahhh...."
As the conversation hit a lull, the doors to Legolas' room opened and in walked both Aragorn and Elrond. The Elf Lord smiled at his twin sons who, after a quick goodbye to the prince, exited the room. Aragorn had taken up a position leaning on one of Legolas' bed posts whilst Elrond sat in a chair just to the right of Legolas' beside.
"My son tells me you have done quite well today."
The prince nodded, "Indeed, Lord Elrond. I have not been plagued by the darkness or Saruman's spell all day."
"Ah, but my fear is for you during sleep. Have you rested at all today, Legolas?"
"I..."
Aragorn shook his head, "No, he has not father."
Elrond looked at the prince with a questioning expression on his face, "Is this true?"
Knowing there was no way to avoid the question, Legolas sighed. "'Tis true. I... I am afraid to sleep. I fear that when I close my eyes, the darkness will overtake me like it has in the past." He looked the Elf Lord in the eyes, "I know it is a silly fear but..."
"But nothing, Legolas. It is completely logical for you to feel this way. In my own opinion, I would have advised against sleep until I arrived. Now however," the Elf Lord smiled, "I may have a cure that will provide you with some much needed rest."
A glint of both fear and relief set itself within the prince's blue eyes, but he forced himself to smile, "That would be wonderful."
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"Is he well?" Gimli asked in frustration. Too long had the poor Dwarf been left out of the happenings in Mirkwood and he refused to be calmed until he knew of Legolas' condition.
Aragorn laughed, "He fares well dear Gimli. Right now, Legolas is with my father and he is better than he has been in days."
"Are you sure of this, Aragorn?" A voice came from behind the duo.
As the man turned, he noticed Thranduil walking silently down the hall.
"Of course, King Thranduil. Your son is getting much better."
The Mirkwood King's expression did not change, "He had better be, for your sake."
Aragorn knew it was not the time or the place to argue with the Elven King. Too many words had been wasted upon their disagreements and now should be a time of joy. The man looked to his left at both Elladan and Elrohir. The twins looked as if they would speak up in protest, but a quick look from the man silenced their thoughts. The two Elven brothers had long ago stood up for Aragorn in his behalf, this time they would have acted no differently. Legede as well was present outside the Elven prince's chambers. He however, was a bit more reserved than the rest.
"Legede, any news from your scouts?" Thranduil asked, coming to stop in front of the doors to Legolas' room.
The Elf bowed, "No my Lord. They report that all is quiet and as to be expected. We believe that they will not attempt a second attack."
"My father and I believe otherwise." Aragorn spoke up.
This was the last straw for Thranduil, in his mind, he had taken too much of the human's advice for an eternity. "It is not your place to make such decisions, Aragorn."
"It was not a decision but an observation. Saruman's forces may have been driven back, but there is no knowing how many Orcs he has hidden in the mountains. The wizard himself is after the magic in this place and, from both my father and myself, we believe he will stop at nothing to attain it. You must understand, Lord Thranduil, Saruman will not back down quietly nor without a fight."
The Elven King turned, looking the man in the eyes. "I believe I can rule over my own kingdom, Aragorn. Perhaps it is time you returned to your own. I am sure that your subjects are in need of such a wise ruler."
"How dare you say such a thing!" Gimli burst in. "Once again I find that Aragorn has more common sense in this matter. You may have lived for thousands of years, King Thranduil, but Aragorn has seen his fair share of war lately. You would be wise to trust to his instincts."
"Trust a mortal's instincts over my own? Bah! You are more foolish than you appear, Dwarf." Thranduil cut in.
It was all Elladan and Elrohir could do to keep the sputtering and angry Dwarf at bay while Aragorn attempted to reason with the king.
"It was only a suggestion, King Thranduil. It was nothing more."
The Elf's expression remained hardened, "Let us hope that it was just and only that."
As Thranduil proceeded to enter Legolas' chambers, Aragorn slumped down the side of the wall to the ground. He let out a long sigh and, after a few seconds, found himself the center of attention. Both of his brothers had begun to laugh, knowing that when Aragorn was frustrated, havoc normally ensued. Gimli was still cross with the Elven King, but who could truly blame him. Now, as Aragorn sat against the cold wall of the Mirkwood Palace, he wondered to himself just how Legolas had been able to stand Thranduil all his long years...
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Disclaimer: Refer to chapter 1 for this.
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Reviews:
Shauna: Thanks and I'm trying to. You guys should give me some input on what you think should happen. I'm having a horrible case of writers block here.
fan81981: So, you're confused on where it fits in too? *whispers* So am I... kinda. I know it takes place AFTER the War of the Ring but also before Aragorn was married to Arwen. In other words, it fits in that tiny area of time where they could never have really done anything at all. But I figured, let Aragorn have one more adventure before settling down, right?
Mouse: I love Aragorn/Legolas friendship fics as well. Those slash things are just so.... EWWW... *shudders* But here's the update and I know it took a while, but I was kinda busy with school stuff... and the cured writer's block.
The Balrog of Altena: Thank you.
Cherise: It was nothing too serious. I had a lot fo school academic and band competitions and then I was also sick for like two weeks. Course, now I've lost my voice but, who cares. That can't prevent me from writing and, since I had no homework tonight, I decided to sit down and update. But thanks, and thanks also for worrying about me. Makes me feel all loved and special.
LegolasLover2003: Okay yeah ummm.... that wasn't me. I was on the computer at school and my friend "Indo" we call him that cause he's a foreign exchange student from Indonesia, got on my name and put a review up. I'm just clarifying that for anyone who was confused. In other words, this LegolasLover2003 was me, but it was a friend on my name.
nebrets: Jes, stop getting on my case about this. I told you it was all planned out and that it would be a canon and, as of yet, I've not really broken any rules. Except for maybe giving Legolas a sister... and possibly the resurrection of Saruman... and maybe even the fact that it fits nowhere quite right... But that is beside the point! So grrr..... j/k.... hahahahaha! Just think Jes, would I really be this mean to my poor poor Legolas? You know how I love him so.... HAHAHAHA!
Brin: Sorry for the crying scene. It's just that those are the types of things that get me in movies... guys crying. Like Brad Pitt or Heath Ledger, man, they cry in so many movies... just gets ya right here.... *cries*
MaDMageMerlin: THANKS SO MUCH! YAY!
Jennie: I did it all with the permission of my muse... *looks at her two Legolas posters* They said I could, as long as I stayed with the canon!
Legolas' Lover: I'm not stopping, it just took me a while to get back into the swing of things, that's all.
BakurasGrl66: Don't worry! I'll save you! *looks at the hole in the floor* Wow... that's really deep... *throws a laptop down the hole* There, now you can read about Legolas laughing and such. But remember, it's only a rouse...
Marissa: Thanks! And, you can find the CD at any online CD store, especially at www.amazon.com. However, I have yet to find it at places like Best Buy or Circuit City as of yet.
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Author's Note: Hey all! Sorry it took so long to update, but I've been busy. Anyway, I think that the watching of too many movies, one of them being "Willow" with Val Kilmer, has given me the inspiration to write again. Also, I think the David Bowie song from "Labyrinth" has helped too. Anyway, I hope you guys liked this next chapter and, I'm sad to say, the story may not have many more chapters to it, at least this one anyway. Because, as all good things must, it will come to an end and that end is nearing it's time! AHHHHH!!!!!!! Sorry about that.... Anywho, I'm going to go back to listening to my Movie Themes ("Legends of the Fall," "Seven Years in Tibet," "Willow" and "Meet Joe Black") and the "Labyrinth" song now. Laters!
