Author's Note: Ah, lookie here, a nice Friday update. See, that wasn't so
long this time, was it? Okay then, on a side-note, Soulsearcher, why was I
not informed of your foundation? I want to join, can I be treasurer? And
another side-note, what the heck ever happened to our plushie line? Gah,
so much to do so little time to do it. Right, as always I love you guys
THIS much (opens arms realllllly wide) and if you would like to continue to
review I would not be against it. Enough odd ramblings, on with the story,
and no I'm still not the reincarnation of Tolkien.
Chapter 15
Legolas shifted back into the present. He could still hear Gimli arguing with the angry men, telling them to leave Legolas be and let Aragorn handle the situation.
"And where is our noble king?" one man asked aloud. "Why does the king choose to be absent in matters concerning the elf?"
Other voices of heated agreement rose and Legolas closed his eyes briefly. The soft ringing had finally left his ears, making everything now painfully loud. He just wished everybody would stop talking and just do what they had come to do.
'They came to catch a killer.'
'And they caught one.'
'Ah, but did they catch the right one?'
Legolas' body shuddered involuntarily as he let out a large breath. His slight movement caught the attention of one of the men, and Legolas soon found himself with a large staff held firmly over his chest, holding him down.
Legolas would have laughed if he could.
As if he needed something to keep him down, Legolas was unsure if he could even get up if he tried. And he definitely knew that he would not even be trying.
"I will say one more time for you and your men to stand down and release the elf," Gimli's defiant voice came through to Legolas again. "Aragorn will be here shortly and he will then decide what will be done."
"We already know what will be done," the man was not backing down.
Legolas squinted and craned his neck slightly. The other voice sounded vaguely familiar. After a few seconds, Legolas realized why and he relaxed, allowing his head to fall back to the ground. He was still feeling somewhat calm about all of this, if not a little sad, and even his new bit of information did not alarm him.
The man standing against Gimli was the father of the murdered girl, the same one that had already confronted Legolas in the courtyard. Legolas did not feel fear for himself at the man's presence, though it was quite obvious that he truly wished the elf death, rather he felt sympathy for the man. Legolas could not imagine that losing one's own kin was an easy ordeal and he had a strange desire to help this man in any way that he could.
'Your death will make him feel better.'
'Then it will have accomplished something.'
But Gimli continued to fight for his friend.
"Only Aragorn can take the law into his own hands."
"We caught the elf red-handed this time," the grieved father fought back, "there is only one punishment available and I for one will see to it that it is done."
Legolas was aware of the sounds of more scuffling and then shouting from Gimli, but his hearing was cheating his senses again and Legolas was unable to hear the finer points of the conversation. The only thing he knew for sure was when he suddenly saw the father standing over him. Legolas only blinked, and turned his eyes away from the man and back to the stars beyond when he saw the drawn sword in his hand. It seemed he was finally ready to ease his pain.
'I wonder if death causes much pain.'
Idle thoughts of the resigned.
Vaguely, Legolas became aware of the increase in shouting.
He thought perhaps Gimli had only increased his own efforts, but then he recognized other voices. It was not only Gimli shouting now.
Legolas refocused his gaze back on the father above him, and saw that the man's face was turned away, the drawn sword now slack in his hand. Wondering at what was going on now, Legolas forced himself to tune into what was happening.
"Stand back at once, clear a path."
A regal voice was commanding the other men to move aside. Not the voice of Aragorn, but familiar nonetheless.
"Has Gondor changed so much in my absence that the orders of the king are no longer acknowledged?"
Nobody dared to answer the question and the ring of men surrounding Legolas began to reluctantly thin out. Immediately Gimli was at his side, kneeling down and grabbing desperately at the elf's shoulders. Legolas frowned slightly and moved to tell the dwarf to leave him be, that he could handle himself, but his body was still not listening to him, so he continued to lay still.
Gimli looked across Legolas' prone form and Legolas became aware of another figure at his side. A side-glance confirmed that this time was Aragorn, and he too was gently pulling at Legolas, confirming wounds quickly as he lay so that he could then decide how they were to move the elf without causing more injury.
And then the last face came into view, the person who had been issuing the orders.
Faramir.
Aragorn finished his quick examination and motioned to Gimli and Faramir. "Help me to move him to the Houses of Healing. There I can tend to his wounds more easily."
The two men and the dwarf took positions on either side of the elf. They waited as a few other men came forward to assist. Legolas vaguely recognized them as guards from Ithilien.
Working together, the men and dwarf moved carefully to first lift the elf and then slowly walk to the Houses of Healing. In the back of his mind, Legolas found the situation ridiculous. He could certainly walk on his own, he had never needed to be carried before and he hardly planned on starting that now. But again, his body refused to connect with his mind.
"I will gather reports of what happened in the morning," Aragorn called out as they moved, "but until then I highly suggest that you all return to your homes. Anybody seen lingering in the streets will be jailed."
Such was the wrath in their king's voice that the men hurriedly began to disperse, snuffing out torches along the way. There was much grumbling and whispered talk among the men as they moved, but they did move.
The last one to leave was the man still holding out a drawn sword, a mixed expression of hatred and sorrow on his face.
The small procession finally made its way to the Houses of Healing and the elf was carefully laid down upon a cold stone slab. Legolas picked up the feel of the surface immediately and shivered, but that was as far as his motions went. He wondered briefly as to why his body still refused to move, he had sustained worse hurts than this in his life, but only briefly and then no more. Instead, the elf chose to gave in to a light gray mist that had been bordering on the edges of his vision.
"He has lost consciousness," Aragorn stated as soon as he saw the elf's open eyes go blank. He had become quite adept at recognizing when an elf was asleep, and since he was certain Legolas would not choose to sleep at this moment, than that only meant one other thing.
"Gimli, tell me what happened," Aragorn asked as he moved quickly about the room grabbing dried herbs and bandages. Faramir had already sent one guard out for clean water and now he stood close by, ready to assist if his help was needed but not wanting to be in Aragorn's way.
Gimli stood as close to Legolas as he could, staring down into the elf's now empty eyes.
"I am not sure of the whole of it," he began, "but I heard a good deal of shouting and movement when I was walking back to the Halls of the Kings so I decided to see what was going on, if maybe there was another murder taking place. Instead I saw a mob of men converge on Legolas. I yelled at them to stop and thankfully they hesitated, but things would have definitely gone ill had you not shown up."
"Why were they attacking Legolas?" Faramir spoke up.
Gimli glanced at him, wondering how much of the story he already knew. "They said that they had caught the elf red-handed in the act of murder."
Faramir certainly did not look impressed at the information, nor did he look disbelieving and Gimli had to assume that he knew a sizable amount of the recent happenings in Gondor.
"Why were you walking back to the Halls of the Kings?" Aragorn questioned as he continued to administer to Legolas. "I thought that you had said you would stay with Legolas until I came back."
"And that was most certainly what I did," Gimli said with a hint of injury to his voice, as if surprised that Aragorn would even think such a thing. "I had been told that you were already back and had requested to speak with me alone."
Aragorn stopped and lifted his head to regard Gimli closely. "Who told you that?"
Gimli's jaw went slack and his brows creased slightly as if he himself had just realized something. "Bergel," he said softly.
Aragorn focused his attentions back to Legolas. "That is most odd indeed," he muttered, almost as if to himself.
"But I have not the faintest idea as to why Legolas left his chambers," Gimli finished, an odd note to his voice.
Aragorn lifted an eyebrow at the statement but said no more, remaining focused on the elf lying before him. After a few long moments of silent administrations, Aragorn finally straightened up and sighed.
"His wounds are not that deep," he told the attentive Gimli and Faramir, "and he is certainly in no immediate danger. So I do not know why he is unconscious, and I suspect that it is partially of his own doing. He will come about soon enough."
Aragorn turned to leave, motioning to Faramir as he did so. "Come, there is much you need to know. Will you be staying here Gimli?"
Gimli nodded, his eyes trained on the still elf. "Of course."
"Let me know if his condition changes," Aragorn said.
Gimli nodded again, but said nothing. He hardly noticed when the room emptied of its other occupants and he was left alone with Legolas.
"I am sorry I could not do more," he whispered, "and I am sorry I left you. This time I will not leave your side until the very demons of this earth kill me. You have my word on that."
Gimli stretched out a hand and folded it over the elf's long one. He squeezed it gently and sighed, taking note of how unresponsive it was.
Until Legolas' body jerked.
Gimli looked at his friend's face in alarm, slowly realizing that the empty look had left his eyes.
"Legolas?"
Legolas blinked and looked around the room, confusion touching his features. His eyes came to rest on the dwarf. "Gimli?"
Gimli leant forward eagerly, squeezing the hand he still held more earnestly.
"Legolas, are you well?"
"Of course," the elf answered impatiently, struggling to sit up. He became irritated when he was unable to do so and it took him a few moments to realize that it was because of Gimli holding him back.
"I do not think you should be moving just yet, we will have to wait to see what Aragorn says." The dwarf explained when he recognized the familiar look of annoyance on the elf's face.
Legolas relaxed slightly and focused his gaze straight ahead of him, up at the dark ceiling. The few lamps that were lit in the room did little to stave off most of the shadows.
"I thought I was supposed to be dead," Legolas muttered aloud.
Gimli furrowed his brows. "What? That is nonsense. You are the last one deserving of a death sentence, that much I know."
"No," Legolas said in a quiet and strangely calm voice, "I am among the first."
Gimli grew frustrated at the elf's mood. "Now listen here you stubborn elf, I am only going to say this once. I still do not know what has gotten into you lately, but it has to stop now. I do not even know yet of all that happened tonight, but I do know that the men are once again wrong, they have to be. I take your word over theirs any day. So you knock yourself out of your sacrificial mood or I'll be more than happy to use my axe and do it for you."
Legolas let out a grim smile at the dwarf's words. "You have not heard what I have to say yet," he commented.
"That means nothing," the dwarf shot back, "I still know enough to know the men are a bunch of babbling vigilantes."
Legolas finally turned his head to the side, looking straight at Gimli.
Gimli felt his words die in his throat.
The elf's gaze was so intense and so alien that he instantly lost all his frustration and almost his nerve. Gimli shook himself and opened his mouth to tell Legolas to stop that immediately.
But Legolas spoke first.
"I finally remember what happened that first night," he said in his still calm voice.
Gimli closed his mouth with a snap and then fumbled for what he wanted to say. He almost forgot what Legolas was referring to, but he caught himself just in time. He was talking about the night the first murder happened.
"And," Gimli stopped himself to keep from stuttering, "and what do you remember?"
Legolas' response was immediate and still strangely calm.
"I am their killer."
Chapter 15
Legolas shifted back into the present. He could still hear Gimli arguing with the angry men, telling them to leave Legolas be and let Aragorn handle the situation.
"And where is our noble king?" one man asked aloud. "Why does the king choose to be absent in matters concerning the elf?"
Other voices of heated agreement rose and Legolas closed his eyes briefly. The soft ringing had finally left his ears, making everything now painfully loud. He just wished everybody would stop talking and just do what they had come to do.
'They came to catch a killer.'
'And they caught one.'
'Ah, but did they catch the right one?'
Legolas' body shuddered involuntarily as he let out a large breath. His slight movement caught the attention of one of the men, and Legolas soon found himself with a large staff held firmly over his chest, holding him down.
Legolas would have laughed if he could.
As if he needed something to keep him down, Legolas was unsure if he could even get up if he tried. And he definitely knew that he would not even be trying.
"I will say one more time for you and your men to stand down and release the elf," Gimli's defiant voice came through to Legolas again. "Aragorn will be here shortly and he will then decide what will be done."
"We already know what will be done," the man was not backing down.
Legolas squinted and craned his neck slightly. The other voice sounded vaguely familiar. After a few seconds, Legolas realized why and he relaxed, allowing his head to fall back to the ground. He was still feeling somewhat calm about all of this, if not a little sad, and even his new bit of information did not alarm him.
The man standing against Gimli was the father of the murdered girl, the same one that had already confronted Legolas in the courtyard. Legolas did not feel fear for himself at the man's presence, though it was quite obvious that he truly wished the elf death, rather he felt sympathy for the man. Legolas could not imagine that losing one's own kin was an easy ordeal and he had a strange desire to help this man in any way that he could.
'Your death will make him feel better.'
'Then it will have accomplished something.'
But Gimli continued to fight for his friend.
"Only Aragorn can take the law into his own hands."
"We caught the elf red-handed this time," the grieved father fought back, "there is only one punishment available and I for one will see to it that it is done."
Legolas was aware of the sounds of more scuffling and then shouting from Gimli, but his hearing was cheating his senses again and Legolas was unable to hear the finer points of the conversation. The only thing he knew for sure was when he suddenly saw the father standing over him. Legolas only blinked, and turned his eyes away from the man and back to the stars beyond when he saw the drawn sword in his hand. It seemed he was finally ready to ease his pain.
'I wonder if death causes much pain.'
Idle thoughts of the resigned.
Vaguely, Legolas became aware of the increase in shouting.
He thought perhaps Gimli had only increased his own efforts, but then he recognized other voices. It was not only Gimli shouting now.
Legolas refocused his gaze back on the father above him, and saw that the man's face was turned away, the drawn sword now slack in his hand. Wondering at what was going on now, Legolas forced himself to tune into what was happening.
"Stand back at once, clear a path."
A regal voice was commanding the other men to move aside. Not the voice of Aragorn, but familiar nonetheless.
"Has Gondor changed so much in my absence that the orders of the king are no longer acknowledged?"
Nobody dared to answer the question and the ring of men surrounding Legolas began to reluctantly thin out. Immediately Gimli was at his side, kneeling down and grabbing desperately at the elf's shoulders. Legolas frowned slightly and moved to tell the dwarf to leave him be, that he could handle himself, but his body was still not listening to him, so he continued to lay still.
Gimli looked across Legolas' prone form and Legolas became aware of another figure at his side. A side-glance confirmed that this time was Aragorn, and he too was gently pulling at Legolas, confirming wounds quickly as he lay so that he could then decide how they were to move the elf without causing more injury.
And then the last face came into view, the person who had been issuing the orders.
Faramir.
Aragorn finished his quick examination and motioned to Gimli and Faramir. "Help me to move him to the Houses of Healing. There I can tend to his wounds more easily."
The two men and the dwarf took positions on either side of the elf. They waited as a few other men came forward to assist. Legolas vaguely recognized them as guards from Ithilien.
Working together, the men and dwarf moved carefully to first lift the elf and then slowly walk to the Houses of Healing. In the back of his mind, Legolas found the situation ridiculous. He could certainly walk on his own, he had never needed to be carried before and he hardly planned on starting that now. But again, his body refused to connect with his mind.
"I will gather reports of what happened in the morning," Aragorn called out as they moved, "but until then I highly suggest that you all return to your homes. Anybody seen lingering in the streets will be jailed."
Such was the wrath in their king's voice that the men hurriedly began to disperse, snuffing out torches along the way. There was much grumbling and whispered talk among the men as they moved, but they did move.
The last one to leave was the man still holding out a drawn sword, a mixed expression of hatred and sorrow on his face.
The small procession finally made its way to the Houses of Healing and the elf was carefully laid down upon a cold stone slab. Legolas picked up the feel of the surface immediately and shivered, but that was as far as his motions went. He wondered briefly as to why his body still refused to move, he had sustained worse hurts than this in his life, but only briefly and then no more. Instead, the elf chose to gave in to a light gray mist that had been bordering on the edges of his vision.
"He has lost consciousness," Aragorn stated as soon as he saw the elf's open eyes go blank. He had become quite adept at recognizing when an elf was asleep, and since he was certain Legolas would not choose to sleep at this moment, than that only meant one other thing.
"Gimli, tell me what happened," Aragorn asked as he moved quickly about the room grabbing dried herbs and bandages. Faramir had already sent one guard out for clean water and now he stood close by, ready to assist if his help was needed but not wanting to be in Aragorn's way.
Gimli stood as close to Legolas as he could, staring down into the elf's now empty eyes.
"I am not sure of the whole of it," he began, "but I heard a good deal of shouting and movement when I was walking back to the Halls of the Kings so I decided to see what was going on, if maybe there was another murder taking place. Instead I saw a mob of men converge on Legolas. I yelled at them to stop and thankfully they hesitated, but things would have definitely gone ill had you not shown up."
"Why were they attacking Legolas?" Faramir spoke up.
Gimli glanced at him, wondering how much of the story he already knew. "They said that they had caught the elf red-handed in the act of murder."
Faramir certainly did not look impressed at the information, nor did he look disbelieving and Gimli had to assume that he knew a sizable amount of the recent happenings in Gondor.
"Why were you walking back to the Halls of the Kings?" Aragorn questioned as he continued to administer to Legolas. "I thought that you had said you would stay with Legolas until I came back."
"And that was most certainly what I did," Gimli said with a hint of injury to his voice, as if surprised that Aragorn would even think such a thing. "I had been told that you were already back and had requested to speak with me alone."
Aragorn stopped and lifted his head to regard Gimli closely. "Who told you that?"
Gimli's jaw went slack and his brows creased slightly as if he himself had just realized something. "Bergel," he said softly.
Aragorn focused his attentions back to Legolas. "That is most odd indeed," he muttered, almost as if to himself.
"But I have not the faintest idea as to why Legolas left his chambers," Gimli finished, an odd note to his voice.
Aragorn lifted an eyebrow at the statement but said no more, remaining focused on the elf lying before him. After a few long moments of silent administrations, Aragorn finally straightened up and sighed.
"His wounds are not that deep," he told the attentive Gimli and Faramir, "and he is certainly in no immediate danger. So I do not know why he is unconscious, and I suspect that it is partially of his own doing. He will come about soon enough."
Aragorn turned to leave, motioning to Faramir as he did so. "Come, there is much you need to know. Will you be staying here Gimli?"
Gimli nodded, his eyes trained on the still elf. "Of course."
"Let me know if his condition changes," Aragorn said.
Gimli nodded again, but said nothing. He hardly noticed when the room emptied of its other occupants and he was left alone with Legolas.
"I am sorry I could not do more," he whispered, "and I am sorry I left you. This time I will not leave your side until the very demons of this earth kill me. You have my word on that."
Gimli stretched out a hand and folded it over the elf's long one. He squeezed it gently and sighed, taking note of how unresponsive it was.
Until Legolas' body jerked.
Gimli looked at his friend's face in alarm, slowly realizing that the empty look had left his eyes.
"Legolas?"
Legolas blinked and looked around the room, confusion touching his features. His eyes came to rest on the dwarf. "Gimli?"
Gimli leant forward eagerly, squeezing the hand he still held more earnestly.
"Legolas, are you well?"
"Of course," the elf answered impatiently, struggling to sit up. He became irritated when he was unable to do so and it took him a few moments to realize that it was because of Gimli holding him back.
"I do not think you should be moving just yet, we will have to wait to see what Aragorn says." The dwarf explained when he recognized the familiar look of annoyance on the elf's face.
Legolas relaxed slightly and focused his gaze straight ahead of him, up at the dark ceiling. The few lamps that were lit in the room did little to stave off most of the shadows.
"I thought I was supposed to be dead," Legolas muttered aloud.
Gimli furrowed his brows. "What? That is nonsense. You are the last one deserving of a death sentence, that much I know."
"No," Legolas said in a quiet and strangely calm voice, "I am among the first."
Gimli grew frustrated at the elf's mood. "Now listen here you stubborn elf, I am only going to say this once. I still do not know what has gotten into you lately, but it has to stop now. I do not even know yet of all that happened tonight, but I do know that the men are once again wrong, they have to be. I take your word over theirs any day. So you knock yourself out of your sacrificial mood or I'll be more than happy to use my axe and do it for you."
Legolas let out a grim smile at the dwarf's words. "You have not heard what I have to say yet," he commented.
"That means nothing," the dwarf shot back, "I still know enough to know the men are a bunch of babbling vigilantes."
Legolas finally turned his head to the side, looking straight at Gimli.
Gimli felt his words die in his throat.
The elf's gaze was so intense and so alien that he instantly lost all his frustration and almost his nerve. Gimli shook himself and opened his mouth to tell Legolas to stop that immediately.
But Legolas spoke first.
"I finally remember what happened that first night," he said in his still calm voice.
Gimli closed his mouth with a snap and then fumbled for what he wanted to say. He almost forgot what Legolas was referring to, but he caught himself just in time. He was talking about the night the first murder happened.
"And," Gimli stopped himself to keep from stuttering, "and what do you remember?"
Legolas' response was immediate and still strangely calm.
"I am their killer."