Decisions of a King
A/N: Firstly I want to point that the geography and the time scale are well off compared to the books or the films.
Chapter 1
Finding old friends
"Where are you going, Legolas?" Gimli demanded, flooring another Orc.
At the Black Gates if Mordor the Captains fought strongly against the host of the dark lands, the Eagles flying overhead, diving and picking off the enemy.
Legolas had sensed something, the Elven sons of Elrond had felt it to, but felt no urge to attend.
Legolas ducked, dived and sliced, ignoring the Dwarf's question.
"Arod" he called whistling. Obediently the grey horse of Rohan trotted through the battle towards his master as if he were walking through fields. He neighed gently at Legolas' side, seeing the Dwarf hurry towards them the Elf mounted quickly and lightly, and with a mere whisper the gelding galloped away from the battle and through the batted and ruined gates of Mordor. Leaving behind his worried and confused friends of Gimli, Aragorn and Pippin.
"Stand, Men of Gondor the final hour is upon us," Gandalf the White cried above the din. "The Ringbearer had fulfilled his quest".
Fire leaped from the mountain in the distance, the host paused and turned towards the tower to see it fall, sink to the ground and kick up clouds of dust. Shrieking the enemy vanished as the clouds swept the bare land and many men believed that they heard more then just the orcs shriek but the very land and the Sprit of Sauron scream in anger and pain at their defeat.
Through the dust Legolas rode. Arod shaken and unwillingly to pass through the dust clouds into the unseen land had to be reassured by his master. A gust of wind swept the lands, banishing the dust that hung like mist at dawn reviled to his eleven eyes the crumpled mountain where he hoped he would find his small companions.
Looking back upon that day Legolas would ponder over many years into why he rode over the bear lands to rescue the Hobbits, and in particularly why he went alone into the shadows that had not yet lifted.
He nudged his stead gently with his heels and together they rode onwards to the mountain to meet up with some small friends.
"Gandalf, Legolas – he's…" Aragorn strode quickly towards the aged man sitting upon Shadowfax.
"He will return" Gandalf said patted his horse on the neck fondly.
"But –"
"Do you not trust your friend, Aragorn?" the wizard asked, looking the Ranger in the eye.
"Of course I do, it's just –"
"He has gone to find Sam and Frodo feeling he must help them return back into the greenness that they have been missing for so long"
Aragorn stood still listening to the wizard's word's, such actions were very unlike Legolas, though he had been reassured by his brothers and now Gandalf.
"Do not worry, he will return, and in the mean time you have your own tasks to see to" he nodded to the company behind. Many were wounded and dead lay scattered across the ground, the corpses of the orcs oddly missing, swept away in the dust and winds.
The men were watching him – he is their King.
The small forms of Sam and Frodo would have been overlooked by any mortal, for they lay bathed in dust and hidden by Sam's Elven cloak. Legolas smiled for the pair lay at rest asleep, curled tightly together in an alcove. Dismounting, the Elf turned his gaze away into the sky that was still dark, but not form evilness but with darkness of night. He sensed the company of men now leaving after several hours rest under the command of Aragorn, he hoped Aragorn would understand his flight from the battle, but that would be discussed later.
Silently Legolas un-pinned his cloak and draped it over the Hobbits noticing their bare hairy feet had escaped the covering of Sam's small cloak. He stood over the pair in a protective manor for several seconds, his bright eleven eyes scanning the pair; they noticed the ring finger on Frodo's right was just a stump, dried blood clinging onto the skin.
But overall the pair were not seriously wounded, he would see to Frodo's finger when he awoke. He stretched upwards cat-like, the prickly sensation on his back stabbed sharply, the fury of battle had numbed his own wounds which were now making themselves felt. His arms and legs were scratched and cut and his tunic spattered with dried blood.
Arod nudged his shoulder for attention, the horse must have been hungry, but no grass grew in the lands, just the thorny bushes that the poor horse had tried resulting in many scratches and blood on his muzzle.
Legolas sighed and whispered gently to his horse rubbing the blood droplets from Arod's grey, velvet nose. The horse snorted in delight blowing warm air on the creases of the Elf's pale palms, warming them in the still and cold night.
He slid his hands down the horses fore legs and across his chest looking for wounds and stiffness, though he had felt none when they rode. But in the poor light he could not see anything major but felt a serious of small scratches and cuts upon his stead's legs and body. Praising him for his bravery in battle Legolas patted and stroked him not noticed the movement of the sleeping forms near by.
Sam squinted his eyes in the darkness. There was someone nearby; he could make out the silhouette of a horse and a Big Person fondly patting it muttering words to the creature. Self consciously his small hands groped for Sting, but it was only when he saw a flash in the person hair did he relax a little. The person's hair flashed golden as he rose, inspecting the horse's legs and Sam noticed that the persons hair was long, the person tall (mind you everything to a Hobbit is tall and big) and slim. With relief he realised it was the silhouette of an Elf.
Sam shifted into a sitting position when the Elf had seen him.
"Rest Sam, go back to sleep" The Elf had not moved just raised his head from the horses withers where he had laid it. Sam did not lie back down but squinted harder in an attempt to see who the figure is. Instead he rose himself onto his knees carefully not to disturb Frodo who lay fast asleep next to him.
"Rest Sam" the Elf said again.
The Hobbit stood up and swayed, his knees shaking he could feel himself falling to one side, he braced himself. But the fall never came.
"Sam," a voice whispered in his ear. "Are you all right?" someone held him in his arms, his head of curly hair inches from the ground. Sam looked towards where the Elf had been standing and found the horse standing alone watching him, his ears pricked forward. Sam warily turned his eyes towards the face that hung over his right shoulder. And even in the darkness he could see the sparkle in his eyes and his hair twinkle.
"Master Legolas it's you!" he whispered as a flood of relief swept over him, he felt suddenly very tired but safe under the Elf's protection. Legolas smiled and sat Sam up, covering his legs in one of the Elven cloaks.
"I'm so glad to see a friendly and familiar face" the Hobbit smiled, his voice shaken slightly.
"Myself too" Legolas' eyes swept Sam's, there were tear tracks upon his cheeks and more threatened to spill.
"Don't cry, Sam" Legolas whispered brushing his fingers across Sam's cubby cheeks.
"It's been so hard, Mr. Legolas, so very hard without you and Strider with us. The creature Gollum he nearly had us, and, and" Sam's voice croaked as he succumbed to his tears.
Legolas bought the crying Hobbit into a hug and pulled him into his chest like a mother would.
"The Ring, it, it tried to take him. Mr. Frodo, he, he"
"Hush, its' all right, Sam it's all over now" Legolas breathed, rubbing Sam's back, telling himself the same thing for his body could not find rest either.
Sam sniffed deeply and his small body shook in Legolas's arms, the Elf's chin resting in the curls of the Hobbits hair.
Sam moved his head, Legolas rolled his a side and the pair locked eyes; "What happened?" Sam asked, deadly serious.
Legolas smiled noticing that the Hobbit had not lost his curiosity over the course of the journey, "Where do you wish me to start?"
Legolas handed Sam his water bottle and sat beside him, Frodo still asleep on Sam's other side. Drinking from the flask Sam saw the deeps scratches on Legolas's arms as the Elf gazed at Frodo.
"How did he get that" the Elf nodded at Frodo's finger.
"It was Gollum. Odd really though" Sam looked at Frodo's bloody stump feeling Legolas's gaze on him. "I never liked that creature, yet I was him really that destroyed the Ring really"
"What do you mean?"
Sam turned to Legolas.
"Frodo didn't want to be rid of the Ring, so Gollum attacked him to get to the Ring, but well…" Sam turned towards Frodo again.
"I see"
"What about you?" Sam spun his head around.
"Oh, these" Legolas nodded to his arms. "These are nothing, just battle scars"
"They look pretty fresh"
"They are. Men from Gondor and Rohan fought at the Black Gates, Aragorn, Gimli, Pippin, Gandalf and I with them"
"Gandalf was there? But, but I thought he had fallen"
"He did" Legolas suddenly looked sad, "the Valar gave him another life, there was much still for him to do"
"He's alive?"
"Very much so"
Sam gapped, unable to believe in his companion's words.
"And Pippin you say Strider and Gimli – where was Merry?" Sam felt his stomach clench, was Merry dead?
"Indeed, both Merry and Pippin are good friends of Rohan and Gondor all the Fellowship are well Sam, except Boromir"
"I heard. We met Faramir his brother"
"He did talk about finding two halflings, but he did not tell much"
Arod dropped clumsily to the ground and rolled in the dust.
"Who is he?" Sam asked.
"That is Arod, a horse of Rohan"
"Where is his tack?"
"Elves do not ride with a saddle or reins. We do not need such tools; we control the horses by voice and touch. A saddle stops the contact between the rider and the horse."
"Isn't it a bit uncomfortable?" Sam asked watching Arod ungracefully stand and shake like a dog.
Legolas laughed gently, "no, though you must remember Sam I have been riding for hundreds of years"
Sam shot his companion a brief shocked look before he remembered the nature of elves.
Legolas laughed louder.
On Sam's over side Frodo stirred to the sound of laughter. It sounded foreign to him; it had been missing from his life for so long. He did not feel afraid of the laughing companion on Sam's over side, but felt suddenly afraid for the lack of weight that should hang around his neck. He patted his chest finding nothing but his cool skin and rough garments of the orc gear. The Ring was missing. Then the memory came back – he had destroyed it, and Sauron and the Eye had been destroyed, gone for ever.
"Mr. Frodo?"
Frodo looked up and saw the soft face of Sam watching him, someone else lifting and playing at his right hand.
Slightly shocked Frodo pulled his hand from the grasp of the stranger.
"It's all right Mr. Frodo" Sam pressed, noticing his master's uncertainty.
"Who are you?" Frodo hissed at the stranger, his face covered in a blanket of darkness.
"Let me see your hand Frodo"
"No" the Hobbit snatched his hand from the grasp of the stranger, blood flowed from his finger again. He found his feet and stood, taking several steps back from Sam and the stranger.
"Mr Frodo its all right it's only –"
Frodo's hands plunged into his orc gear and pulled out a knife he used as a sword and the glass phial of Galadriel.
Legolas stood, something was truly wrong with Frodo; it must be some sort of side effect from bearing the Ring this long.
"Frodo, it's me" he said.
Frodo stepped back feeling threatened. "Don't come any closer" he warned raising his 'sword'.
Legolas stopped and tried to talk to his friend. "I'm not going to hurt you, Fro-" he cut himself off seeing the mad glitter in Frodo's eyes. "It's over Frodo, Sauron has been defeated"
"No, no your one of his aren't you?" Frodo moved away slowly the crazed look never leaving his face.
Legolas mirrored his steps muttering Elvish words.
"Keep back, you evil"
"Gwiil, nin mellon" //peace my friend//.
"Stay away!"
"Eail gosta anim" // do not fear me//
Sam watched in horror as his master turned against his friend believing him to be evil.
"Frodo, please" he pleaded, "listen to him"
Frodo raised the glass phial above his head and cried the same words that had found him light before: "Ayia Eärendil Elenion Ancalima!"
Light spilled out of the glass jewel blinding poor Sam and Legolas and starling Arod. It sent light beams into the night sky that seemed to summon the stars into the air.
Legolas shielded his eyes and prayed for the forgiveness of Galderial as he charged towards Frodo knocking him to the ground and knocking the phial from the Hobbit's hand, the light dying instantly.
"No, no, get off!" Frodo wrestled, fear flooding into his eyes again, his old self returning.
Legolas knelt over him battling against Frodo's flying hands; he had to raise his voice over Frodo's shouts and curses.
"Frodo, Frodo, hush, it's all right, hush" Legolas forced Frodo's hands to his side; he pinned them there and spoke clearly to the Hobbit.
"It's all right, hush, shhh"
The blue and frightened eyes of Frodo stared in disbelief at the Elf that hung over him.
"Legolas, is that you?" he asked a smile, at last passing his lips.
"Aye, it is me" Legolas released Frodo, who sprung up and hugged the Elf tightly.
"I am sorry" he sobbed "it still has a hold on me"
"It will pass, do not be sorry Frodo. It is over nin mellon" //my friend//
"I know, I know"