Chapter Thirty-Four: Proposal
A/N: Don't you just love the title? Suggests something, doesn't it? I promise, everybody is going to love this chapter. Don't mind Aila's attitude problem, I mean -- if you were in her shoes, wouldn't you be pissy too? Thanks again for all the reviews, you guys are awesome, and I'm sorry about all the trouble with getting this chapter up. ENJOY! I know you will.
…
Aila woke up the day after the battle, early in the morning, to slight pain in her side, more annoying than painful, and it immediately put her into a bad mood. She was alone in the sickroom, curtains drawn tightly across the window so that she could not see the sunlight that peeked over the Gondor city, unaware that she had been asleep for two days straight. A knock floated through the air to her ears, but she felt the guest was unwelcome.
"Go away," she said, more pleading than demanding, but she thought it might do to send whoever it was away.
"It's Legolas," came the voice from the other side of the door. He seemed almost surprised that she had responded like that.
"Go away," she said more firmly, pulling the blanket over her head and turning her head away from the door.
"Aila …"
"Go away!" she replied, more angry this time. "I feel like trash and I look like trash, I don't want to see anybody and I don't want anybody to see me!" She was shocked at her own reply, and felt an immediate pang of guilt because Legolas only wanted to help her. That feeling was quickly pushed aside however, in her bitterness.
The door creaked open and she felt the weight of the bed shift as Legolas sat on the edge, despite her wishing him to go away. She found herself slowly sliding down the slope of the bed towards him and scooted farther away.
"Why did you come?" he asked. "When I told you to go to Dunharrow? Why did you go against me?"
"I did no such thing," said Aila, more bitterly than she meant, but her mood took her further than she planned. "You told me to go with Eowyn, and that I did. She came to the battle and I came with her. Did you not know that she has slain the King of the Nazgul? You should be happy she came!"
"Oh, I'm delighted she came," said Legolas dryly, looking at her face as she pulled the blanket down from her head and looked at him. "But not so much that you came with her, knowing that I meant for you to go to Dunharrow, where Eowyn was meant to go in the first place."
"You know nothing of meaning," snapped Aila. "Of course she was meant to come here. By fate! She came to kill the most hated of your enemies."
"Why did you come?" he asked again, not heeding her terrible mood and angry responses.
"I came because I wanted to see Aragorn crowned," she lied. "I wanted to help Eowyn, and tell her that she doesn't love Aragorn, she loves Faramir … and Faramir! I came so that I may save him from his father. I came so that I may tell him of his brother's death, I came so that I could see Boromir's likeness in him." She trailed off for a moment, but in her heart, she knew her real reasons. "Oh hell," she said, her face showing utter turmoil. "I came because you told me not to! You sent me to Dunharrow to be safe, or so you say.
"No, you really sent me because I'm supposed to be a weak female, right?"
"That's not why …" said Legolas, but she cut him off, almost yelling in her anger.
"You know perfectly well that's why! You sent me to Dunharrow with the feeble, old, and lame. Mostly, however, with the women. Only men are to be warriors … to see the battlefield. Well, I was sick of it! It's always 'Lady this, Lady that' in Middle Earth. Yeah, maybe some of the girls you have here are weak and contented with their pointless lives and aren't able to hold their own in battle. But not me Legolas. Not me." Anger swelled in her as she took a deep breath to continue. "And even with that sword that's supposed to keep me from getting killed. I'm sick of the big egos of men!"
"I wish you would understand," muttered Legolas, looking to his knees.
"I wish you would leave!" she screamed at him, total anger enveloping her, allowing it to get the best of her. When Legolas made no move to leave, she brought up her foot to lash out at him, but immediately regretted it. Pain seared through her side once more and she screamed in pain, falling down the small slope of the bed against Legolas' back. She lay there, leaning heavily against him, whimpering in pain. Surprised, Legolas reached out a hand to comfort her, but she pushed it away through her pain.
"Go away!" she screamed at him, tears of pain and confusion streaming down her face. Still shocked, Legolas stood up as she cradled her side, sniffling against the pain. He took one last look at her, knowing she didn't meant what she had said, and turned to the door, closing it behind him. He stood there for a few moments, listening to her on the other side. Sobs came clearly through the wooden door and he heard her calm down for a moment, before she launched into even more tears, calling his name.
"Legolas," she said, barely audible through the door, but she continued to call his name, increasing in volume every time. "Legolas! I am sorry, I didn't mean it. Please," she sobbed almost hysterically. "Please come back, Legolas. I'm sorry! Please, Legolas! Come back," she fell into further tears and she couldn't bring herself to speak for a few moments, before she dropped back, still muttering audibly. "Come back … come back," she ended when it was finally just a whisper, before she stopped speaking, seeing that he was not coming back.
"If only you could understand," Legolas said softly to her from the other side of the door. "If only …" He turned and walked down the hallway, away from the sound of her tears.
…
"I don't think Aila is in her right mind at the moment. She has hardly any control over what she says or does at this point. Seeing her comrades fall in arms and Boromir's death still weighs heavy upon her heart and spirit," Aragorn said to Legolas, who had told him everything that happened. "Be patient, friend. She will soon come out of her depression. When she is healed. You must be patient."
"I only wish I could be," replied Legolas. "I worry too much about her."
"I know you do, mellonim." sighed Aragorn, patting his friend lightly upon the shoulder. "Once she is healed I am sure she will want to go home, as well. I am sorry, I wish I could make her stay, but she will want to go home." This thought had obviously not occurred to Legolas and his eyes dimmed even more.
"When will she be healed, Aragorn?" The new king looked sadly upon his elven friend, knowing that his next statement will be a great disappointment and a hard blow to the elven prince.
"Later today she will be well enough to walk. Before lunch, even, knowing her. She is strong. I'm sorry, Legolas, I know how you feel about her and I wish I could make her stay. But I have no jurisdiction over her. She isn't of my realm, or of any other on Middle Earth. Though I doubt anybody would have an easy time controlling her." Legolas nodded, his heart fell to his feet.
"I thought it would be so. She will go then, but what about being the Light Bearer? She cannot just leave, she has a prophecy to fulfill!"
"I know, but I doubt that will be foremost on her mind. She will probably visit occasionally."
"Occasionally," repeated Legolas sadly. He wandered away from the King of Gondor, walking aimlessly through the streets and halls of the city. Around noon, he caught sight of Aila, walking around with small difficulty, testing her strength. The sight saddened him deeply, he knew that she would soon want to leave. He fought the urge to go up to her, but the way she had pushed him away earlier that morning stayed his movements.
However, he wasn't the only one who saw Aila; Eomer walked towards her, glad to see her well again. She smiled triumphantly at him, remarking that walking was hard to re-learn.
"Well, you do it excellently," he said. "Come, I have a special place I wish to show you." She raised her eyebrows at him and laughed lightly. Her laugh was the tinkle of millions of bells, only softer and more breathy, with high undertones. Legolas began to follow them unconsciously, staying a way behind them so they did not discover him. He didn't know why he did this, but he felt he wanted to see what took place.
Eomer took her to the dais of the White Tree, glowing in its triumph over Sauron. So pure and gentle against the blue sky and wooden platform around it. Leaves cascaded from its boughs and Aila smiled upon seeing it.
"I have seen things of this beauty, but never so singularly." Eomer smiled as well, happy at the joy on her face.
"Aila," he said softly. "Let me just get to the point. I haven't known you for very long, but I don't want you to leave me. Eowyn is injured and my uncle, Theoden King is dead. I am next in line for the crown of Rohan. Will you come back with me and be my queen? I love you, Aila, please say you will come with me!" His eyes were desperate for her to feel the same way, and Aila felt the perfect world around her shatter. "I love you, Aila." A lump formed in Legolas' throat.
"I love you …" trailed Aila, and Eomer's face jumped in glee, his eyes brightened and he clasped her hand. Legolas, in turn, felt his heart sink to his knees and despair take over his body. Waves of sorrow enveloped Legolas' body, causing him to shudder in emotional pain. Her words reverberated through his head, Aila's sweet voice repeating as an echo: "I love you, I love you." She loved. But the love wasn't for him, but for Eomer. Legolas sunk deeper into the bushes in despair, to hear so sweetly from her lips that her heart was for another made Legolas' own heart crumble to nothingness, his mouth became dry and he continuously blinked, as if he could hardly believe it. Aila began again, and Legolas' heart shattered anew as he heard her repeat herself: "I love you …"
…
A/N: Ha ha. And you all thought it was Legolas who was about to propose … MWAHAHA, how evil am I? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, sorry about the shortness, but I just HAD to have that cliffhanger in there. I'm glad Fanfiction.net is working again. Okay, well, we're coming near the end(s), so hang with me. I promise, the next chapter will be coming out soon!
A/N: Don't you just love the title? Suggests something, doesn't it? I promise, everybody is going to love this chapter. Don't mind Aila's attitude problem, I mean -- if you were in her shoes, wouldn't you be pissy too? Thanks again for all the reviews, you guys are awesome, and I'm sorry about all the trouble with getting this chapter up. ENJOY! I know you will.
…
Aila woke up the day after the battle, early in the morning, to slight pain in her side, more annoying than painful, and it immediately put her into a bad mood. She was alone in the sickroom, curtains drawn tightly across the window so that she could not see the sunlight that peeked over the Gondor city, unaware that she had been asleep for two days straight. A knock floated through the air to her ears, but she felt the guest was unwelcome.
"Go away," she said, more pleading than demanding, but she thought it might do to send whoever it was away.
"It's Legolas," came the voice from the other side of the door. He seemed almost surprised that she had responded like that.
"Go away," she said more firmly, pulling the blanket over her head and turning her head away from the door.
"Aila …"
"Go away!" she replied, more angry this time. "I feel like trash and I look like trash, I don't want to see anybody and I don't want anybody to see me!" She was shocked at her own reply, and felt an immediate pang of guilt because Legolas only wanted to help her. That feeling was quickly pushed aside however, in her bitterness.
The door creaked open and she felt the weight of the bed shift as Legolas sat on the edge, despite her wishing him to go away. She found herself slowly sliding down the slope of the bed towards him and scooted farther away.
"Why did you come?" he asked. "When I told you to go to Dunharrow? Why did you go against me?"
"I did no such thing," said Aila, more bitterly than she meant, but her mood took her further than she planned. "You told me to go with Eowyn, and that I did. She came to the battle and I came with her. Did you not know that she has slain the King of the Nazgul? You should be happy she came!"
"Oh, I'm delighted she came," said Legolas dryly, looking at her face as she pulled the blanket down from her head and looked at him. "But not so much that you came with her, knowing that I meant for you to go to Dunharrow, where Eowyn was meant to go in the first place."
"You know nothing of meaning," snapped Aila. "Of course she was meant to come here. By fate! She came to kill the most hated of your enemies."
"Why did you come?" he asked again, not heeding her terrible mood and angry responses.
"I came because I wanted to see Aragorn crowned," she lied. "I wanted to help Eowyn, and tell her that she doesn't love Aragorn, she loves Faramir … and Faramir! I came so that I may save him from his father. I came so that I may tell him of his brother's death, I came so that I could see Boromir's likeness in him." She trailed off for a moment, but in her heart, she knew her real reasons. "Oh hell," she said, her face showing utter turmoil. "I came because you told me not to! You sent me to Dunharrow to be safe, or so you say.
"No, you really sent me because I'm supposed to be a weak female, right?"
"That's not why …" said Legolas, but she cut him off, almost yelling in her anger.
"You know perfectly well that's why! You sent me to Dunharrow with the feeble, old, and lame. Mostly, however, with the women. Only men are to be warriors … to see the battlefield. Well, I was sick of it! It's always 'Lady this, Lady that' in Middle Earth. Yeah, maybe some of the girls you have here are weak and contented with their pointless lives and aren't able to hold their own in battle. But not me Legolas. Not me." Anger swelled in her as she took a deep breath to continue. "And even with that sword that's supposed to keep me from getting killed. I'm sick of the big egos of men!"
"I wish you would understand," muttered Legolas, looking to his knees.
"I wish you would leave!" she screamed at him, total anger enveloping her, allowing it to get the best of her. When Legolas made no move to leave, she brought up her foot to lash out at him, but immediately regretted it. Pain seared through her side once more and she screamed in pain, falling down the small slope of the bed against Legolas' back. She lay there, leaning heavily against him, whimpering in pain. Surprised, Legolas reached out a hand to comfort her, but she pushed it away through her pain.
"Go away!" she screamed at him, tears of pain and confusion streaming down her face. Still shocked, Legolas stood up as she cradled her side, sniffling against the pain. He took one last look at her, knowing she didn't meant what she had said, and turned to the door, closing it behind him. He stood there for a few moments, listening to her on the other side. Sobs came clearly through the wooden door and he heard her calm down for a moment, before she launched into even more tears, calling his name.
"Legolas," she said, barely audible through the door, but she continued to call his name, increasing in volume every time. "Legolas! I am sorry, I didn't mean it. Please," she sobbed almost hysterically. "Please come back, Legolas. I'm sorry! Please, Legolas! Come back," she fell into further tears and she couldn't bring herself to speak for a few moments, before she dropped back, still muttering audibly. "Come back … come back," she ended when it was finally just a whisper, before she stopped speaking, seeing that he was not coming back.
"If only you could understand," Legolas said softly to her from the other side of the door. "If only …" He turned and walked down the hallway, away from the sound of her tears.
…
"I don't think Aila is in her right mind at the moment. She has hardly any control over what she says or does at this point. Seeing her comrades fall in arms and Boromir's death still weighs heavy upon her heart and spirit," Aragorn said to Legolas, who had told him everything that happened. "Be patient, friend. She will soon come out of her depression. When she is healed. You must be patient."
"I only wish I could be," replied Legolas. "I worry too much about her."
"I know you do, mellonim." sighed Aragorn, patting his friend lightly upon the shoulder. "Once she is healed I am sure she will want to go home, as well. I am sorry, I wish I could make her stay, but she will want to go home." This thought had obviously not occurred to Legolas and his eyes dimmed even more.
"When will she be healed, Aragorn?" The new king looked sadly upon his elven friend, knowing that his next statement will be a great disappointment and a hard blow to the elven prince.
"Later today she will be well enough to walk. Before lunch, even, knowing her. She is strong. I'm sorry, Legolas, I know how you feel about her and I wish I could make her stay. But I have no jurisdiction over her. She isn't of my realm, or of any other on Middle Earth. Though I doubt anybody would have an easy time controlling her." Legolas nodded, his heart fell to his feet.
"I thought it would be so. She will go then, but what about being the Light Bearer? She cannot just leave, she has a prophecy to fulfill!"
"I know, but I doubt that will be foremost on her mind. She will probably visit occasionally."
"Occasionally," repeated Legolas sadly. He wandered away from the King of Gondor, walking aimlessly through the streets and halls of the city. Around noon, he caught sight of Aila, walking around with small difficulty, testing her strength. The sight saddened him deeply, he knew that she would soon want to leave. He fought the urge to go up to her, but the way she had pushed him away earlier that morning stayed his movements.
However, he wasn't the only one who saw Aila; Eomer walked towards her, glad to see her well again. She smiled triumphantly at him, remarking that walking was hard to re-learn.
"Well, you do it excellently," he said. "Come, I have a special place I wish to show you." She raised her eyebrows at him and laughed lightly. Her laugh was the tinkle of millions of bells, only softer and more breathy, with high undertones. Legolas began to follow them unconsciously, staying a way behind them so they did not discover him. He didn't know why he did this, but he felt he wanted to see what took place.
Eomer took her to the dais of the White Tree, glowing in its triumph over Sauron. So pure and gentle against the blue sky and wooden platform around it. Leaves cascaded from its boughs and Aila smiled upon seeing it.
"I have seen things of this beauty, but never so singularly." Eomer smiled as well, happy at the joy on her face.
"Aila," he said softly. "Let me just get to the point. I haven't known you for very long, but I don't want you to leave me. Eowyn is injured and my uncle, Theoden King is dead. I am next in line for the crown of Rohan. Will you come back with me and be my queen? I love you, Aila, please say you will come with me!" His eyes were desperate for her to feel the same way, and Aila felt the perfect world around her shatter. "I love you, Aila." A lump formed in Legolas' throat.
"I love you …" trailed Aila, and Eomer's face jumped in glee, his eyes brightened and he clasped her hand. Legolas, in turn, felt his heart sink to his knees and despair take over his body. Waves of sorrow enveloped Legolas' body, causing him to shudder in emotional pain. Her words reverberated through his head, Aila's sweet voice repeating as an echo: "I love you, I love you." She loved. But the love wasn't for him, but for Eomer. Legolas sunk deeper into the bushes in despair, to hear so sweetly from her lips that her heart was for another made Legolas' own heart crumble to nothingness, his mouth became dry and he continuously blinked, as if he could hardly believe it. Aila began again, and Legolas' heart shattered anew as he heard her repeat herself: "I love you …"
…
A/N: Ha ha. And you all thought it was Legolas who was about to propose … MWAHAHA, how evil am I? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, sorry about the shortness, but I just HAD to have that cliffhanger in there. I'm glad Fanfiction.net is working again. Okay, well, we're coming near the end(s), so hang with me. I promise, the next chapter will be coming out soon!