Authors notes: - Thank you again for all the reviews and comments, as
always they are much appreciated. I hope you enjoy this! Unfortunately I am
suffering writers block. I know where I want to end up but I am having
trouble getting there, so please bear with me! Thanks! So please read and
please review!
**
Aragorn watched coldly as Legolas was brought in struggling in the guards
grasp. A little voice in his head began to scream.
*Look at him* the voice cried *He is your friend. He is ill. Think about it, would he attack a diplomat unprovoked* But as much as the small voice cried the darkness that had invaded Aragorn's mind smothered it, till it was nothing but a whisper lost in the depths.
"Explain yourself!" Aragorn demanded as Legolas was brought before him. He watched Eomer move to stand next to him with Faramir. The guards left leaving the four stood in the room.
"What?" Legolas calmly replied.
"You know perfectly well what Legolas. The attack was unprovoked."
"If you were more observant Aragorn then you would realise that this attack was not unprovoked. Urguth is not who he seems to be."
"What are you talking about? You have hated Urguth the minute he appeared and you have done little to disguise that. Now you have attacked him in a hall full of people. This act cannot be unpunished."
Legolas remained silent. Aragorn was not going to be swayed by anything he said. The man had already condemned him and decided his fate.
"You are banished from Gondor. You have until dawn to leave the city and do not return."
"Aragorn?" Eomer and Faramir both exclaimed.
Legolas flinched slightly and for a brief moment hurt flashed in his eyes.
"I have let you off lightly. Now do I have to have the guards escort you out."
"I will leave but when you open your eyes and see the truth I hope you will be able to overcome on your own." Legolas stated angrily.
Eomer moved forward to try and argue some sense into the King but Aragorn's face had contorted into an expression of absolute fury. He grabbed the elf and slammed him into the wall.
"I have not been blinded to anything and I can see the truth for what it is. Elves cannot be trusted and you have proven that. You did not like Urguth so you set out to destroy any chance of Gondor succeeding in creating an alliance. Elves disgust me and I don't know why I ever befriended you." Aragorn snarled. Legolas began to feel his own anger increase, the poison still flooding through his veins.
"You were raised by elves Aragorn. They didn't disgust you then. You are married to an elf and she doesn't disgust you so don't bring the entire race of elves into this when your problem is with me. You are right I don't trust Urguth and before now you would have listened to me and thought about what I had to say not dismissing me immediately. He is not who he appears to be, I can see him for what he really is. He had messed with your mind, not just of you but Gimli and others."
"Quiet!" Aragorn snapped and shoved the elf away. "If Urguth is not who I think he is then what is he? If you can see him why can't Arwen? Your argument is flawed."
"I can explain everything if you will calm down and listen." Legolas said softly.
"To what more lies? Leave now. Guards!"
Three guards entered the room. "Take him to his room and then make sure he leaves."
"Don't do this Estel please." Legolas pleaded as the guards pulled him from the room.
"I never want to see you again traitor." Aragorn snarled.
"What have you done?" Eomer exclaimed.
"What I had to. Now both of you leave me. Now!"
* Gandalf walked determinedly towards the cave entrance. He showed no fear where any other person would either have run away fast or at least paused for a few minutes to gather up courage. The sounds emanating from the cave were terrifying to say the least. Harsh breathing and high pitch screeching echoed in the depths. The wizard walked deeper into the cave and called out in a loud voice.
"Ignath come forth Gandalf the White wishes to speak with you!" The noises stopped and then a deep gruff voice responded.
"Step forward Gandalf the White."
Gandalf did as requested and stepped into a deep and wide cavern. It was enormous and the walls glittered as if inlaid with jewels. Part of the wall seemed to move and a black creature emerged. A dragon, the last of its kind.
"Greetings old friend." The dragon said as it crept forward. "What brings you here?"
"Do I need a reason to visit an old friend?" Gandalf asked. A deep-throated laugh emerged from the dragon accompanied with a puff of smoke.
"Considering that it is you, yes." Gandalf laughed.
Ignath sat up and stretched his jet-black wings as far as the cave would allow.
"What is your request?" Ignath asked.
"The Darak have returned." Gandalf stated. Ignath cocked his head slightly to the side and blinked his red eyes.
"Indeed." The dragon stated. "The magic of the elves is weakening, something like this was eventually going to happen. We have relied too much on the elves and naively expected their magic to continue even after they have left."
"Not all elves have left. I had thought that we still had time to implement some actions to prevent this."
Ignath regarded the wizard with a patient look that an adult would give a child.
"Sometimes I forget how young you are!" the dragon stated. Gandalf roared with laughter. Ignath was the only one who could call Gandalf young.
"All of the powerful elf lords have departed. There remains only one prince of elves left. Prince Legolas of Mirkwood and Lord of Ithilien. He alone cannot maintain the elven magic."
"The children of Elrond remain."
"He may have been powerful but his children are not nearly so. I assume that the Darak have targeted the young prince."
"Indeed. King Eomer of Rohan sent me a message saying that the Darak are within Gondor. They are apparently in league with a delegation sent to Gondor from Thera. Eomer states that the leaders have been compromised and Legolas attacked."
"Hmm so the prophecy was indeed correct. The Darak would return and hope shall be tainted." Ignath mused.
"Yes and I have been asked to aid them."
Ignath considered this. "It shall not be easy. They will remove the elves as soon as they can. Once Gondor falls and then Rohan Middle - Earth would again be in darkness."
"Will you help me?" Gandalf asked.
"I have to consider this. Dragons are not well thought of. Also I cannot do it alone, I will need to contact others that will help."
"Thank you my friend. I will proceed to Gondor and determine the situation."
"I will send a sign just before we arrive. Take care."
* Legolas entered the stables and proceeded to his horse's stall. The guards followed him and watched as he quickly secured his things to the horse. Aure snorted and shook his mane as he was led out. Legolas mounted and looked around before nudging his horse out of the stables and into the courtyard. He did not look back as he trotted out of the courtyard and down the main road that led to the main gates.
As he passed through the main gates he halted Aure as the gates closed. He saw Urguth stood on the battlements watching him. Hate flooded through him and before he could do something stupid he nudged Aure into a gallop and the golden horse shot away like the wind blowing across the plains. Faster and faster Legolas urged Aure as he tried to drive the stinging sense of betrayal and hurt that resided in his heart away.
An agonising pain shot through him and he saw the ground rushing up to meet him.
*Now no one will help you, your screams will go unanswered* Urguth whispered inside his head.
Legolas groaned and opened his eyes. He was no longer on the plains. It was dark and very hard to breath. He tried to get up but could barely move.
*Now you are out of my way and Gondor will fall* he heard Urguth say in his mind and for the first time he was truly frightened.
*
*Look at him* the voice cried *He is your friend. He is ill. Think about it, would he attack a diplomat unprovoked* But as much as the small voice cried the darkness that had invaded Aragorn's mind smothered it, till it was nothing but a whisper lost in the depths.
"Explain yourself!" Aragorn demanded as Legolas was brought before him. He watched Eomer move to stand next to him with Faramir. The guards left leaving the four stood in the room.
"What?" Legolas calmly replied.
"You know perfectly well what Legolas. The attack was unprovoked."
"If you were more observant Aragorn then you would realise that this attack was not unprovoked. Urguth is not who he seems to be."
"What are you talking about? You have hated Urguth the minute he appeared and you have done little to disguise that. Now you have attacked him in a hall full of people. This act cannot be unpunished."
Legolas remained silent. Aragorn was not going to be swayed by anything he said. The man had already condemned him and decided his fate.
"You are banished from Gondor. You have until dawn to leave the city and do not return."
"Aragorn?" Eomer and Faramir both exclaimed.
Legolas flinched slightly and for a brief moment hurt flashed in his eyes.
"I have let you off lightly. Now do I have to have the guards escort you out."
"I will leave but when you open your eyes and see the truth I hope you will be able to overcome on your own." Legolas stated angrily.
Eomer moved forward to try and argue some sense into the King but Aragorn's face had contorted into an expression of absolute fury. He grabbed the elf and slammed him into the wall.
"I have not been blinded to anything and I can see the truth for what it is. Elves cannot be trusted and you have proven that. You did not like Urguth so you set out to destroy any chance of Gondor succeeding in creating an alliance. Elves disgust me and I don't know why I ever befriended you." Aragorn snarled. Legolas began to feel his own anger increase, the poison still flooding through his veins.
"You were raised by elves Aragorn. They didn't disgust you then. You are married to an elf and she doesn't disgust you so don't bring the entire race of elves into this when your problem is with me. You are right I don't trust Urguth and before now you would have listened to me and thought about what I had to say not dismissing me immediately. He is not who he appears to be, I can see him for what he really is. He had messed with your mind, not just of you but Gimli and others."
"Quiet!" Aragorn snapped and shoved the elf away. "If Urguth is not who I think he is then what is he? If you can see him why can't Arwen? Your argument is flawed."
"I can explain everything if you will calm down and listen." Legolas said softly.
"To what more lies? Leave now. Guards!"
Three guards entered the room. "Take him to his room and then make sure he leaves."
"Don't do this Estel please." Legolas pleaded as the guards pulled him from the room.
"I never want to see you again traitor." Aragorn snarled.
"What have you done?" Eomer exclaimed.
"What I had to. Now both of you leave me. Now!"
* Gandalf walked determinedly towards the cave entrance. He showed no fear where any other person would either have run away fast or at least paused for a few minutes to gather up courage. The sounds emanating from the cave were terrifying to say the least. Harsh breathing and high pitch screeching echoed in the depths. The wizard walked deeper into the cave and called out in a loud voice.
"Ignath come forth Gandalf the White wishes to speak with you!" The noises stopped and then a deep gruff voice responded.
"Step forward Gandalf the White."
Gandalf did as requested and stepped into a deep and wide cavern. It was enormous and the walls glittered as if inlaid with jewels. Part of the wall seemed to move and a black creature emerged. A dragon, the last of its kind.
"Greetings old friend." The dragon said as it crept forward. "What brings you here?"
"Do I need a reason to visit an old friend?" Gandalf asked. A deep-throated laugh emerged from the dragon accompanied with a puff of smoke.
"Considering that it is you, yes." Gandalf laughed.
Ignath sat up and stretched his jet-black wings as far as the cave would allow.
"What is your request?" Ignath asked.
"The Darak have returned." Gandalf stated. Ignath cocked his head slightly to the side and blinked his red eyes.
"Indeed." The dragon stated. "The magic of the elves is weakening, something like this was eventually going to happen. We have relied too much on the elves and naively expected their magic to continue even after they have left."
"Not all elves have left. I had thought that we still had time to implement some actions to prevent this."
Ignath regarded the wizard with a patient look that an adult would give a child.
"Sometimes I forget how young you are!" the dragon stated. Gandalf roared with laughter. Ignath was the only one who could call Gandalf young.
"All of the powerful elf lords have departed. There remains only one prince of elves left. Prince Legolas of Mirkwood and Lord of Ithilien. He alone cannot maintain the elven magic."
"The children of Elrond remain."
"He may have been powerful but his children are not nearly so. I assume that the Darak have targeted the young prince."
"Indeed. King Eomer of Rohan sent me a message saying that the Darak are within Gondor. They are apparently in league with a delegation sent to Gondor from Thera. Eomer states that the leaders have been compromised and Legolas attacked."
"Hmm so the prophecy was indeed correct. The Darak would return and hope shall be tainted." Ignath mused.
"Yes and I have been asked to aid them."
Ignath considered this. "It shall not be easy. They will remove the elves as soon as they can. Once Gondor falls and then Rohan Middle - Earth would again be in darkness."
"Will you help me?" Gandalf asked.
"I have to consider this. Dragons are not well thought of. Also I cannot do it alone, I will need to contact others that will help."
"Thank you my friend. I will proceed to Gondor and determine the situation."
"I will send a sign just before we arrive. Take care."
* Legolas entered the stables and proceeded to his horse's stall. The guards followed him and watched as he quickly secured his things to the horse. Aure snorted and shook his mane as he was led out. Legolas mounted and looked around before nudging his horse out of the stables and into the courtyard. He did not look back as he trotted out of the courtyard and down the main road that led to the main gates.
As he passed through the main gates he halted Aure as the gates closed. He saw Urguth stood on the battlements watching him. Hate flooded through him and before he could do something stupid he nudged Aure into a gallop and the golden horse shot away like the wind blowing across the plains. Faster and faster Legolas urged Aure as he tried to drive the stinging sense of betrayal and hurt that resided in his heart away.
An agonising pain shot through him and he saw the ground rushing up to meet him.
*Now no one will help you, your screams will go unanswered* Urguth whispered inside his head.
Legolas groaned and opened his eyes. He was no longer on the plains. It was dark and very hard to breath. He tried to get up but could barely move.
*Now you are out of my way and Gondor will fall* he heard Urguth say in his mind and for the first time he was truly frightened.
*