A/n:AU, Takes place when Aragorn is in his 20s. Legolas has been horribly
disfigured by the Watcher of Moria 2000 years ago. Slash warning- if you
don't like it, don't read it!
I made the song up myself, on the spot. Hope it's not too freakishly
absurd and doesn't make anyone retch! :)
Prologue: What if the Fellowship had never existed? What if Legolas had been trapped outside of Moria when the Watcher awoke for the first time, with his elven comrades trapped within Moria by broken gates? What if his body was covered in horrific scars ever after, due to being chewed and tossed like a rag doll by the Watcher, and spending one terrifying moment within the stomach of the Watcher itself before cutting his way free? What if? What if?
Chapter One: Blighted Rose
Legolas took a deep breath. The air was tinged with hints of pine fragrance, mixed with the earthy scents of oak and the faintly nutty beech. The fragrance of running water would seem out of place to a stranger who did not know these woods, but Legolas was not deceived. The brook was silent, flowing smoothly and soundlessly underneath the cover of huckleberry bushes. A stranger would not have seen the brook, wide though it was, as it wound about the small islets in its center, because they would be unalerted to its presence. //All the more reason,// he thought sadly, //for me to house myself on this island. I'll know if someone's coming by the splashes they make. No one can catch me off guard.// Legolas got up slowly, smoothing his brown deerskin tunic in a habitual manner, brushing off the few pine needles that had managed to attach themselves to the clothing in question. No amount of care over clothing could disguise the fact that it lay over a tortured, ravished skin, for his skin was raised in a pattern of three horizontal lines down his back and wrapping around his legs in a jagged, ripped mockery of candy-cane stripes. Claw marks. //No, don't think about that, daydreamer. Think about where you're going to set this new rabbit snare.// He sighed sadly. //To think I've sunk to the level of eating meat to survive// Tears rose unbidden to his eyes, and he stopped trying to concentrate on his work. It was pointless, until he managed to face his memories and defeat them. He closed his eyes, and sunk reluctantly into the world of memory. __________________________________________________________
Legolas frantically shot arrows into the Watcher, desperate to drive it back, even if the price was in his own blood. He came into the half-trance he always felt when battling, and his world centered on the Watcher. //Kill // his mind screamed, as he ignored the thrashing tentacles and continued to fire bolt after bolt , each blocked from its target by a writhing arm that now bore fifteen of his pale white arrows. He frowned in concentration, and paused for a single instant to find a weak point. That hesitation was fatal. The Watcher shot out its tentacles and took a hold on him, making him scream as he discovered that the suction cups on the tentacles were overspread with a fiery, burning acid that began to melt his wristguards. He flailed around desperately, twisting his head to call for help from the others- To discover that the Watcher had pulled down the door-frame itself. He was alone with the monster. "Damn you!!" he screamed at the monstrosity before him. The creature stopped its thrashing, and the waters surrounding it grew ominously still. The only sounds were Legolas's vehement struggles and his harsh breathing. The creature paused a moment, then sent out two more tentacles to wrap around his legs. Legolas moaned at the pain, and the creature slowly pulled the four tentacles attached to the elf's limbs apart. Legolas cried out, as the creature then moved him, spread-eagled midair, into the reach of a few tentacles close to the Watcher's mouth that had talons at their tips. The Watcher paused for a moment, clearly savoring Legolas's discomfort. Then it began to carve into his flesh... The sound of the elf's tortured screams carried for miles around. __________________________________________________________
Legolas shuddered at the memory of the Watcher's 'embrace', and his hands raised to the mask over his face. The Watcher had been an intelligent being, and it had used its intelligence to take pleasure in pain. His face, once the most beautiful in all Mirkwood, had become a horrific visage that sent all his former friends into hysterics. He had had to leave. //Why do these memories haunt me now? It has been two thousand years since it happened. Why do I persist in mourning the past?// Legolas sighed, and began to hum a piece of song to himself as he sat on the ledge overhanging his cave.
These memories of mine Haunt me in my dreams I cannot let go of them Or the world'll hear my screams
I'm stepping in silent sorrows of a Memory's lullaby Letting it take over as The world passes me by
Why can't I let go?
Shadows of my past amid The shadows of my mind Wrapping me into their Suffocating bind
Sitting spellbound in a world long-gone And a dream that'll hypnotize Reality and memory twist and Melt before my eyes
Let me go, shadows past
Let me go
Legolas realized, as he broke out of his reverie, that he had begun to sob. And sob he did, shaking; achingly, horribly, utterly alone.
*****tbc*****
I'll only continue if you promise to review and keep reviewing. My ransom is 7 reviews per chapter, so heads up! if you read this, please review. Otherwise I might not write any more, and everyone else who reviews will be mad at you! If you do review, please continue to do so! :) bye for now.
Prologue: What if the Fellowship had never existed? What if Legolas had been trapped outside of Moria when the Watcher awoke for the first time, with his elven comrades trapped within Moria by broken gates? What if his body was covered in horrific scars ever after, due to being chewed and tossed like a rag doll by the Watcher, and spending one terrifying moment within the stomach of the Watcher itself before cutting his way free? What if? What if?
Chapter One: Blighted Rose
Legolas took a deep breath. The air was tinged with hints of pine fragrance, mixed with the earthy scents of oak and the faintly nutty beech. The fragrance of running water would seem out of place to a stranger who did not know these woods, but Legolas was not deceived. The brook was silent, flowing smoothly and soundlessly underneath the cover of huckleberry bushes. A stranger would not have seen the brook, wide though it was, as it wound about the small islets in its center, because they would be unalerted to its presence. //All the more reason,// he thought sadly, //for me to house myself on this island. I'll know if someone's coming by the splashes they make. No one can catch me off guard.// Legolas got up slowly, smoothing his brown deerskin tunic in a habitual manner, brushing off the few pine needles that had managed to attach themselves to the clothing in question. No amount of care over clothing could disguise the fact that it lay over a tortured, ravished skin, for his skin was raised in a pattern of three horizontal lines down his back and wrapping around his legs in a jagged, ripped mockery of candy-cane stripes. Claw marks. //No, don't think about that, daydreamer. Think about where you're going to set this new rabbit snare.// He sighed sadly. //To think I've sunk to the level of eating meat to survive// Tears rose unbidden to his eyes, and he stopped trying to concentrate on his work. It was pointless, until he managed to face his memories and defeat them. He closed his eyes, and sunk reluctantly into the world of memory. __________________________________________________________
Legolas frantically shot arrows into the Watcher, desperate to drive it back, even if the price was in his own blood. He came into the half-trance he always felt when battling, and his world centered on the Watcher. //Kill // his mind screamed, as he ignored the thrashing tentacles and continued to fire bolt after bolt , each blocked from its target by a writhing arm that now bore fifteen of his pale white arrows. He frowned in concentration, and paused for a single instant to find a weak point. That hesitation was fatal. The Watcher shot out its tentacles and took a hold on him, making him scream as he discovered that the suction cups on the tentacles were overspread with a fiery, burning acid that began to melt his wristguards. He flailed around desperately, twisting his head to call for help from the others- To discover that the Watcher had pulled down the door-frame itself. He was alone with the monster. "Damn you!!" he screamed at the monstrosity before him. The creature stopped its thrashing, and the waters surrounding it grew ominously still. The only sounds were Legolas's vehement struggles and his harsh breathing. The creature paused a moment, then sent out two more tentacles to wrap around his legs. Legolas moaned at the pain, and the creature slowly pulled the four tentacles attached to the elf's limbs apart. Legolas cried out, as the creature then moved him, spread-eagled midair, into the reach of a few tentacles close to the Watcher's mouth that had talons at their tips. The Watcher paused for a moment, clearly savoring Legolas's discomfort. Then it began to carve into his flesh... The sound of the elf's tortured screams carried for miles around. __________________________________________________________
Legolas shuddered at the memory of the Watcher's 'embrace', and his hands raised to the mask over his face. The Watcher had been an intelligent being, and it had used its intelligence to take pleasure in pain. His face, once the most beautiful in all Mirkwood, had become a horrific visage that sent all his former friends into hysterics. He had had to leave. //Why do these memories haunt me now? It has been two thousand years since it happened. Why do I persist in mourning the past?// Legolas sighed, and began to hum a piece of song to himself as he sat on the ledge overhanging his cave.
These memories of mine Haunt me in my dreams I cannot let go of them Or the world'll hear my screams
I'm stepping in silent sorrows of a Memory's lullaby Letting it take over as The world passes me by
Why can't I let go?
Shadows of my past amid The shadows of my mind Wrapping me into their Suffocating bind
Sitting spellbound in a world long-gone And a dream that'll hypnotize Reality and memory twist and Melt before my eyes
Let me go, shadows past
Let me go
Legolas realized, as he broke out of his reverie, that he had begun to sob. And sob he did, shaking; achingly, horribly, utterly alone.
*****tbc*****
I'll only continue if you promise to review and keep reviewing. My ransom is 7 reviews per chapter, so heads up! if you read this, please review. Otherwise I might not write any more, and everyone else who reviews will be mad at you! If you do review, please continue to do so! :) bye for now.