Author's notes: - Okay I have finally done it. This is the last chapter. I
hope you like the ending and please, please, please could I have reviews on
your general impression of the story as a whole. I will now begin working
on the sequel to Nwalmaer, which hopefully will be read by as many people
as have read my other stories. Lastly a huge thank you to everyone who has
reviewed already, you are so much appreciated and bless you all! Take care
and ENJOY! Oh and if I don't post before then let me wish everyone a Merry
Christmas and Happy New Year!
**
Aragorn watched as Legolas's chest rose and fell beneath the white sheet
of the bed. The elf was curled in on his side as if protecting himself
from the outside world. His hand resting by his face. His eyes were
closed and that worried Aragorn terribly but Gandalf had said that he was
probably just exhausted and emotionally drained. Legolas had fallen
asleep in Aragorn's arms after crying himself out. He had carried the elf
to a room in the Houses of Healing and there he had remained,
undisturbed. When he woke Aragorn wanted to talk to him in private, to
explain himself, to beg forgiveness.
It was approaching dusk and Legolas had not stirred.
"Eomer told me you wanted to leave." Aragorn whispered. "That you no
longer wished to live near men."
Aragorn blinked and tears flowed down your face. "I am so sorry that it
has come to this. I did not keep this from you. I did not have the chance
to tell you.No that sounds terrible." Aragorn berated himself and he rose
from the chair and began pacing.
"If I was a friend I should have told you.I should have found a way."
"I do not blame you." A soft whisper came from the bed. Aragorn whirled
around to see Legolas looking sleepily at him. Moving quickly to the bed,
he knelt beside it.
"I am so sorry my friend."
"I believe you."
Aragorn's face showed the relief he felt and Legolas smiled tiredly.
"How do you feel?" The man asked.
"Fine." The elf replied earning a smirk from Aragorn.
"Really my friend?"
"No. I don't know. Drained." Legolas shifted and sat up tucking a hair
shakily behind his ear. It fell forward again and Legolas blew it
exasperatedly away. Aragorn smiled again and tucked the errant strand
behind the pointed ear.
"Thank you."
"Your welcome." Aragorn faded off. "Did you really mean the things you
said to Eomer?"
Legolas sighed. "Yes" he answered softly.
"Why? I do not wish you to leave, to be alone."
"But I will be alone Estel. You will not live forever. I will see
generations die and remain still and I will be very much alone."
Aragorn shifted and sat on the bed. "I will not lie to you Legolas and I
cannot deny that it is for my own selfish reasons that I desire you to
stay but it is because you are my best friend. My heart will ache if you
leave and like this, with so much anger to those who lied to you."
"I wish to be with my family, to live without darkness and fighting. I am
a warrior yes but I have fought for so very long, seen so much death, so
much blood and fear. I no longer wish to remain here Aragorn. I do not
belong here this is not my world. My people have left, the time of the
elves has passed."
Aragorn blinked and two tears trailed down his face.
"But I cannot leave. That choice had been taken from me without my
consent. I have no longer a colony and when the elves that have survived
leave Arwen and I will be the only elves left in Middle - Earth. She is
mortal; you and her will live happily and grow old together. I will
remain the same."
Aragorn rose and turned away from his friend the facts hitting him hard.
"Is there a way to change this decision? A way for you to leave but the
magic to remain?" He asked a few moments later.
He heard a rustle and Legolas appeared beside him. "Before you ask I am
fine." The elf said at Aragorn's questioning glance. They shared a brief
smile before their faces became once again solemn.
"There is no way Aragorn. The magic is part of every elf, to remove it."
Legolas shuddered. "I would die."
"I am going to leave Mellon. To go and see Mirkwood, it is my home. I do
not wish to cause you pain but please see it from my point of view, all
that has happened." Legolas's voice faded.
"When will you leave?" Aragorn whispered.
"Dawn."
"Will you come back?"
"Aye to see you wrinkled and old is something not to be missed." Legolas
joked softly. Aragorn smiled weakly at him before turning to envelope him
in an embrace.
"Thank you for everything. You have been my best friend for so long you
deserve so much that I cannot hope to grant you."
"I require nothing from you Mellon. Your friendship means more than you
will ever know."
"Take this with you." Aragorn said pressing a ring into the elf's palm.
Legolas recognised it as a present he had given the man when he had come
of age.
"I will return it to you."
"I would hope that you wouldn't sell it." Aragorn chuckled. Legolas
smiled.
"I have to go and speak to the others. I fear Gimli will not understand."
"You give him too little credit."
"Probably"
Legolas turned to leave. "Take Care." Aragorn said. "Always."
**
The hall at the entrance to the Houses of Healing was crowded with
people. Gimli was sat in a chair near the fire talking quietly to the
hobbits and Eomer. Faramir, Eowyn and Arwen sat quietly none of them
saying much. Gandalf sat alone smoking his pipe. The door that had led to
the room, which held Legolas and Aragorn, opened revealing a tired blonde
elf.
All stopped and attention focused on the elf.
"I could stand here and lie to you about the situation that we are in but
you are my friends and I feel you deserve the truth. I suspect by now you
know that Ithilien had fallen and that the only survivors are now here
within Gondor."
There were several nods and sympathetic looks. "The survivors will leave
for the Havens with the morn."
"And yourself?" Faramir asked beating the others to the question.
"I am to remain." He heard Gimli sigh in relief but paid the dwarf no
attention, his gaze firmly fixed on Gandalf.
"I am returning to Mirkwood."
"Why?" Pippin asked. "There is nothing there."
"Because Master Peregrin it is my home."
"That would not be wise." Gandalf stated calmly. Legolas turned to face
him with a glare that would have quelled many a man, elf or dwarf.
"If you seek to lecture me about the great wonders of the Valor, I wish
not to hear it. I have seen much but understand little of what you speak.
I have seen friends die, armies fall, the ring destroyed but still you
see me as not yet ready to understand this destiny of mine as you put it.
Did it take my failure to protect my people for you to finally come
forward? Now I have become something I have no wish to be and had no
choice in the matter. I cannot join my family in the Havens, I have to
remain to watch as my friends die and the world change beyond that of my
comprehension and you seek to justify this by placing the fate of Middle
Earth in my hands."
Legolas laughed bitterly. "Forgive me for not wanting to hear anything
that you have to say old man."
Gandalf rose to his feet his face darkening with anger.
"You are acting like an insolent child Legolas"
"I am not going to argue with you, it would be a waste of my time and
energy. I am leaving and when you join the others in the Haven's please
extend my gratitude to those who knew."
Legolas walked towards the doors but Gandalf grabbed him.
"What?" Legolas said anguished. "What could you possibly say or do that
could make this better?"
"Nothing but please do not leave like this."
"I cannot stay, I need time for myself. I need calm. I cannot find it
here among the walls of stone."
"I understand but do not dwell on things that you can't change. I will
not let you remain in isolation."
"It is part of my destiny Gandalf, you know as well as I do. Please don't
make it any harder than it already is."
Legolas opened the door and stepped into the cold outside shutting the
door with a soft clunk.
**
"I hope you are happy," Gimli said. "He has been driven away from his
friends."
Gandalf turned around to defend himself and the decision that had been
made and soon the whole room had dissolved into an argument. Aragorn
walked through ignoring them all and made his way to the outer walls. The
weather had turned really cold and snow had begun to lightly fall. He
took no notice his mind swirling with all that had happened. How he
wished he could turn back time that he hadn't have been so easy to
manipulate, that he had listened to Legolas.
Climbing up the stone stairs he walked past the sentry's and found a
quiet spot that overlooked the gate and he waited.
**
Legolas made his way to where the elves were staying. They were packed
and ready. He smiled for they knew him so well.
"We are ready to leave my lord." Lanmaer said.
"No wait until dawn. I must leave alone."
Legolas's words brought several murmurs of protest from the elves.
"Nay my lord." Legolas raised a hand to stall Lanmaer's protest.
"There is much I have to tell you."
**
Barely two hours had passed before the clatter of hooves caught Aragorn's
attention. The gates opened and he knew who it was, the gates were closed
at night and only opened for a certain few. A white horse glowing as if
the moon were contained within it cantered smoothly out of the gate and
on to the plain outside. The horse drew to a halt and the rider clad in
an elven cloak turned, as if he knew exactly where to look. A flash of
silver hair caught Aragorn's eye and his tears ran freely down his face.
Snow drifting around the frozen pair as if the sky mourned.
"Goodbye my friend." Aragorn whispered and the horse reared up as if in
salute and then was gone in a blur of silver.
**
The sun rose in the morning as it did most mornings, the world continued
on, as it would always do. The weak rays did little to melt the ice that
flowed through Aragorn's veins. He stood next to Arwen and the others who
had gathered to see the last remaining elves depart. Legolas's absence
had been noted quickly and there was much despair. With dead eyes Aragorn
watched as Lanmaer presented gifts that Legolas had left behind. For the
hobbits elven cloaks with clasps of Ithilien that combined all the
symbols of the elven colonies. Gimli received a letter and a jewel of the
most brilliant blue that would never leave the hands of the dwarf for the
rest of his days. More gifts were presented but they were little and of
no real value apart from sentimental reasons that they now represented,
as Legolas did not have much time to gather suitable gifts together.
Lanmaer stepped in front of Aragorn.
"He wanted for you to have this back," the elf said presenting the ring
that Aragorn had given Legolas just the night before.
"He said that he gave it to you and he would need no ring to remember you
by, you on the other hand would need these things when your mind finally
fails in your old age." The elf smiled softly but Aragorn did not return
it.
Aragorn slid the ring back onto his finger and took the offered letter.
Lanmaer turned and mounted his horse. With a nod to the gathered assembly
the elves turned as one and trotted proudly out of Gondor. Those who saw
probably did not realise that this would be the last they see of the race
of elves. With the returning of the ring Aragorn knew Legolas would not
return and he grieved. A shrill eagle cry echoed through the air as the
gate clunked shut with an air of finality.
**
**
Aragorn watched as Legolas's chest rose and fell beneath the white sheet
of the bed. The elf was curled in on his side as if protecting himself
from the outside world. His hand resting by his face. His eyes were
closed and that worried Aragorn terribly but Gandalf had said that he was
probably just exhausted and emotionally drained. Legolas had fallen
asleep in Aragorn's arms after crying himself out. He had carried the elf
to a room in the Houses of Healing and there he had remained,
undisturbed. When he woke Aragorn wanted to talk to him in private, to
explain himself, to beg forgiveness.
It was approaching dusk and Legolas had not stirred.
"Eomer told me you wanted to leave." Aragorn whispered. "That you no
longer wished to live near men."
Aragorn blinked and tears flowed down your face. "I am so sorry that it
has come to this. I did not keep this from you. I did not have the chance
to tell you.No that sounds terrible." Aragorn berated himself and he rose
from the chair and began pacing.
"If I was a friend I should have told you.I should have found a way."
"I do not blame you." A soft whisper came from the bed. Aragorn whirled
around to see Legolas looking sleepily at him. Moving quickly to the bed,
he knelt beside it.
"I am so sorry my friend."
"I believe you."
Aragorn's face showed the relief he felt and Legolas smiled tiredly.
"How do you feel?" The man asked.
"Fine." The elf replied earning a smirk from Aragorn.
"Really my friend?"
"No. I don't know. Drained." Legolas shifted and sat up tucking a hair
shakily behind his ear. It fell forward again and Legolas blew it
exasperatedly away. Aragorn smiled again and tucked the errant strand
behind the pointed ear.
"Thank you."
"Your welcome." Aragorn faded off. "Did you really mean the things you
said to Eomer?"
Legolas sighed. "Yes" he answered softly.
"Why? I do not wish you to leave, to be alone."
"But I will be alone Estel. You will not live forever. I will see
generations die and remain still and I will be very much alone."
Aragorn shifted and sat on the bed. "I will not lie to you Legolas and I
cannot deny that it is for my own selfish reasons that I desire you to
stay but it is because you are my best friend. My heart will ache if you
leave and like this, with so much anger to those who lied to you."
"I wish to be with my family, to live without darkness and fighting. I am
a warrior yes but I have fought for so very long, seen so much death, so
much blood and fear. I no longer wish to remain here Aragorn. I do not
belong here this is not my world. My people have left, the time of the
elves has passed."
Aragorn blinked and two tears trailed down his face.
"But I cannot leave. That choice had been taken from me without my
consent. I have no longer a colony and when the elves that have survived
leave Arwen and I will be the only elves left in Middle - Earth. She is
mortal; you and her will live happily and grow old together. I will
remain the same."
Aragorn rose and turned away from his friend the facts hitting him hard.
"Is there a way to change this decision? A way for you to leave but the
magic to remain?" He asked a few moments later.
He heard a rustle and Legolas appeared beside him. "Before you ask I am
fine." The elf said at Aragorn's questioning glance. They shared a brief
smile before their faces became once again solemn.
"There is no way Aragorn. The magic is part of every elf, to remove it."
Legolas shuddered. "I would die."
"I am going to leave Mellon. To go and see Mirkwood, it is my home. I do
not wish to cause you pain but please see it from my point of view, all
that has happened." Legolas's voice faded.
"When will you leave?" Aragorn whispered.
"Dawn."
"Will you come back?"
"Aye to see you wrinkled and old is something not to be missed." Legolas
joked softly. Aragorn smiled weakly at him before turning to envelope him
in an embrace.
"Thank you for everything. You have been my best friend for so long you
deserve so much that I cannot hope to grant you."
"I require nothing from you Mellon. Your friendship means more than you
will ever know."
"Take this with you." Aragorn said pressing a ring into the elf's palm.
Legolas recognised it as a present he had given the man when he had come
of age.
"I will return it to you."
"I would hope that you wouldn't sell it." Aragorn chuckled. Legolas
smiled.
"I have to go and speak to the others. I fear Gimli will not understand."
"You give him too little credit."
"Probably"
Legolas turned to leave. "Take Care." Aragorn said. "Always."
**
The hall at the entrance to the Houses of Healing was crowded with
people. Gimli was sat in a chair near the fire talking quietly to the
hobbits and Eomer. Faramir, Eowyn and Arwen sat quietly none of them
saying much. Gandalf sat alone smoking his pipe. The door that had led to
the room, which held Legolas and Aragorn, opened revealing a tired blonde
elf.
All stopped and attention focused on the elf.
"I could stand here and lie to you about the situation that we are in but
you are my friends and I feel you deserve the truth. I suspect by now you
know that Ithilien had fallen and that the only survivors are now here
within Gondor."
There were several nods and sympathetic looks. "The survivors will leave
for the Havens with the morn."
"And yourself?" Faramir asked beating the others to the question.
"I am to remain." He heard Gimli sigh in relief but paid the dwarf no
attention, his gaze firmly fixed on Gandalf.
"I am returning to Mirkwood."
"Why?" Pippin asked. "There is nothing there."
"Because Master Peregrin it is my home."
"That would not be wise." Gandalf stated calmly. Legolas turned to face
him with a glare that would have quelled many a man, elf or dwarf.
"If you seek to lecture me about the great wonders of the Valor, I wish
not to hear it. I have seen much but understand little of what you speak.
I have seen friends die, armies fall, the ring destroyed but still you
see me as not yet ready to understand this destiny of mine as you put it.
Did it take my failure to protect my people for you to finally come
forward? Now I have become something I have no wish to be and had no
choice in the matter. I cannot join my family in the Havens, I have to
remain to watch as my friends die and the world change beyond that of my
comprehension and you seek to justify this by placing the fate of Middle
Earth in my hands."
Legolas laughed bitterly. "Forgive me for not wanting to hear anything
that you have to say old man."
Gandalf rose to his feet his face darkening with anger.
"You are acting like an insolent child Legolas"
"I am not going to argue with you, it would be a waste of my time and
energy. I am leaving and when you join the others in the Haven's please
extend my gratitude to those who knew."
Legolas walked towards the doors but Gandalf grabbed him.
"What?" Legolas said anguished. "What could you possibly say or do that
could make this better?"
"Nothing but please do not leave like this."
"I cannot stay, I need time for myself. I need calm. I cannot find it
here among the walls of stone."
"I understand but do not dwell on things that you can't change. I will
not let you remain in isolation."
"It is part of my destiny Gandalf, you know as well as I do. Please don't
make it any harder than it already is."
Legolas opened the door and stepped into the cold outside shutting the
door with a soft clunk.
**
"I hope you are happy," Gimli said. "He has been driven away from his
friends."
Gandalf turned around to defend himself and the decision that had been
made and soon the whole room had dissolved into an argument. Aragorn
walked through ignoring them all and made his way to the outer walls. The
weather had turned really cold and snow had begun to lightly fall. He
took no notice his mind swirling with all that had happened. How he
wished he could turn back time that he hadn't have been so easy to
manipulate, that he had listened to Legolas.
Climbing up the stone stairs he walked past the sentry's and found a
quiet spot that overlooked the gate and he waited.
**
Legolas made his way to where the elves were staying. They were packed
and ready. He smiled for they knew him so well.
"We are ready to leave my lord." Lanmaer said.
"No wait until dawn. I must leave alone."
Legolas's words brought several murmurs of protest from the elves.
"Nay my lord." Legolas raised a hand to stall Lanmaer's protest.
"There is much I have to tell you."
**
Barely two hours had passed before the clatter of hooves caught Aragorn's
attention. The gates opened and he knew who it was, the gates were closed
at night and only opened for a certain few. A white horse glowing as if
the moon were contained within it cantered smoothly out of the gate and
on to the plain outside. The horse drew to a halt and the rider clad in
an elven cloak turned, as if he knew exactly where to look. A flash of
silver hair caught Aragorn's eye and his tears ran freely down his face.
Snow drifting around the frozen pair as if the sky mourned.
"Goodbye my friend." Aragorn whispered and the horse reared up as if in
salute and then was gone in a blur of silver.
**
The sun rose in the morning as it did most mornings, the world continued
on, as it would always do. The weak rays did little to melt the ice that
flowed through Aragorn's veins. He stood next to Arwen and the others who
had gathered to see the last remaining elves depart. Legolas's absence
had been noted quickly and there was much despair. With dead eyes Aragorn
watched as Lanmaer presented gifts that Legolas had left behind. For the
hobbits elven cloaks with clasps of Ithilien that combined all the
symbols of the elven colonies. Gimli received a letter and a jewel of the
most brilliant blue that would never leave the hands of the dwarf for the
rest of his days. More gifts were presented but they were little and of
no real value apart from sentimental reasons that they now represented,
as Legolas did not have much time to gather suitable gifts together.
Lanmaer stepped in front of Aragorn.
"He wanted for you to have this back," the elf said presenting the ring
that Aragorn had given Legolas just the night before.
"He said that he gave it to you and he would need no ring to remember you
by, you on the other hand would need these things when your mind finally
fails in your old age." The elf smiled softly but Aragorn did not return
it.
Aragorn slid the ring back onto his finger and took the offered letter.
Lanmaer turned and mounted his horse. With a nod to the gathered assembly
the elves turned as one and trotted proudly out of Gondor. Those who saw
probably did not realise that this would be the last they see of the race
of elves. With the returning of the ring Aragorn knew Legolas would not
return and he grieved. A shrill eagle cry echoed through the air as the
gate clunked shut with an air of finality.
**