Disclaimer: I do not own any of the LOTR characters. I just realized that
all my characters begin with an A. Strange?
*****************************
************************
Of my life, all of my life,
I've been searching for a love like ours.
Somewhere to stay somewhere safe in your arms,
I was so sure.
Are you really saying your heart's changing?
Do you really mean goodbye?
Chapter 12: Without a trace
Legolas had silently crept out of his bed, he didn't want to wake Aerin. He looked at her sleeping form and her calm breathing.
What they had shared that night would only make it harder for him to leave her. He hadn't planned it like this, but what they did wouldn't change anything.
Legolas was still determined to leave until after she and his brother had given their wedding vows.
Aerin awoke from her slumber, she felt the void next to her in the bed. She turned her head slowly as she was still a bit dazed and saw that Legolas had dressed himself and was reaching for his bow.
"Manka naa lle autien, a'maelamin? Where are you going, my beloved," she asked, watching him closely across the room.
Legolas froze, he had hoped she would still be asleep when he left. He raised his head and looked straight into her dark green eyes.
Aerin awaited his answer, her eyebrow was raised slightly.
"I am leaving," he muttered softly.
Aerin could feel that her heart stopped beating. "Where to?" she almost squealed.
"Maybe to the grey havens," he tried to remain calm.
All the blood had seemed to be drained out of Aerin's face. She unconsciously shook her head.
How could he leave me now that I have given him my heart and soul? She looked at him with big confusing eyes not able to say a word.
"What has happened does not change anything about our situation," he stammered.
"Then take me with you." she pleaded to Legolas almost frantically.
He sadly shook his head, as much as he wanted to he couldn't take her with him.
If they would run away together, they would never be able to go back to Lorien or Mirkwood ever again.
"No, I have to go away and you have to marry my brother," he sounded determined.
She buried her nails deep into the bed sheets. Her heart broke into a million pieces.
How could I have been so naive? She asked herself and couldn't help feeling angry and used.
"How can you say that? How can I still marry your brother now?" she was near to tears, but refused to cry and show her weakness.
She stood up from the bed with a sheet rapped around her body and gave Legolas an icy stare.
"If I would take you with me. We would both be no longer welcome in Lorien or Mirkwood," he tried to reason with her.
Legolas was trying hard to stay calm, but inside he could feel he was slowly dying.
She couldn't believe how calm he kept and that made her even angrier.
"Lle wethrine amin, you have deceived me, you told me you loved me, that I was the love of your life!" she was at the break of hysterics, clenching her fists, her nails imbedded deep into the palms of her hands.
Legolas felt desperate, he would rather die than see her get hurt, but still he had no choice.
He walked up to her and grasped both her shoulders and gently shook her.
"I do love you, I love you more than life itself. Do you know how desperately I want you to be my wife? But we are not meant to be together."
They were interrupted by a knock on the door. They gave each other a meaning full look.
Aerin grasped her dress and slipped it on as quickly as possible.
Legolas waited till she was finished before opening the door. he held the door ajar and blocked the view from whom ever it was at the door.
Legolas opened the door slowly and to his surprise saw it was Haldir.
"What brings you to my door?" Legolas asked him in his most casual way.
Haldir seemed to look straight passed him, what was impossible but still.
"There is no need for this, I know she is in there with you," he told Legolas, keeping his face expressionless.
Aerin couldn't believe her ears. How could he have known? She felt a bit ashamed and relieved at the same time.
Legolas looked at her and Aerin just nodded her head. He than opened the door and took a step back so Haldir could walk into the room.
Aerin looked into Haldir's eyes and she felt a knot in her stomach. She thought she saw a hint of disappointment in his eyes, but that wasn't what worried her most. It was something else, something was terribly wrong.
"Mani naa ta, Haldir? What is it, what is wrong?" she asked him worriedly.
Haldir looked at both their faces. He had known she would be here with him. He had hoped she wouldn't have, but the way they'd danced together at the ball and the look they'd given each other made it clear to him. He only hoped Legolas was still prepared to leave and everything could be kept a secret, at least until after her wedding to Alderon.
"Aranwe is missing," Haldir spoke softly.
Aerin's heart stopped beating and her fair face turned a whiter shade of pale.
"How? Where?" She stammered incoherent, given Haldir a desperate look.
"We think she might have been taken. Where have you last seen her, Aerin?" Haldir fixed his gaze on her.
Aerin felt ashamed for leaving her dearest friend to be with Legolas. It was all her fault, if she had gone to her room, none of this would have happened.
"In the great hall, right before Legolas and I.," she stopped in mid- sentence and quickly lowered her gaze in shame.
"I have been to her room, but her bed was not slept in and neither was yours," Haldir gave her a hard look.
'So that is how he knew.' She thought to herself, hoping no one else had been in her room.
"A council will be held in about a hour, your presence will be needed," Haldir told them.
He than looked at Aerin and frowned. "You should go back to your room and freshen up. Change into another dress. Or others may come to the same conclusions as I have."
Aerin blushed a deep scarlet, she averted her eyes, fully aware of the way she looked. She couldn't erase the disappointed look she saw in Haldir's eyes from her memory. Haldir was her friend and mentor, she felt like she had let him down by keeping secrets from him.
Aerin paced to her room and closed the door behind her. She had hoped nobody had seen her sneaking into her own room. She quickly bathed herself, but she couldn't wash off the guilt and shame she felt.
Yes, it had been a wonderful experience, being with the one she loved more than life itself, sharing intimate moments all through the night. It had been pure and utter bliss.
And yes, she knew what they'd did was wrong (even though it had felt so right.) She understood why Legolas had to leave, after all, they weren't mend to be together.
Then something on the floor caught her attention. She picked it up and recognized it instantly.
It was a thick silver bracelet. Two branches entwined with a blue crystal shaped in the form of a heart in the centre, a sign of devotion and eternal friendship.
Aerin had the same bracelet on her wrist, this was Aranwe's.
Aranwe had been in her room. She knew her friend would've never taken off her bracelet.
Then Aerin saw something else. Little red spots were clearly visible on the floor. She knelt down and ran her index finger across the floor.
She examined the red colour that was now on her finger and smelled it. The scent was all too familiar. Blood!
Aerin almost panicked, it all fell into place now. Aranwe had been to her room last night, but why?
Most important of all was that this was the place where Aranwe must've been kidnapped.
She examined the room more closely looking for more signs and then she saw a candlestick on the floor. She picked it up and again she found a small splatter of blood.
Everything indicated that there had been a struggle in her room.
Then she felt a shock go through her body as she realized that the kidnapper had intended to take her and had kidnapped Aranwe by mistake, thinking it was her.
It was, after all, her room and she was supposed to sleep there that night.
She prayed to the Valar that no harm had come to her best friend. But what to do now?
Aerin made her way to the council meeting, luckily it hadn't yet started.
Frantically she looked around in search of Haldir or Legolas. Then she spotted them both standing near some trees.
As she walked up to them, Haldir spotted her and saw the worried expression on her face.
She grasped both Haldir and Legolas by their arm and led them further away from the council, both men looked at her and waited for her explanation.
"Aranwe was kidnapped in my room last night," she told them softly.
"How do you know?" Haldir asked in the same whispering manner.
"Because of this," she replied, holding out Aranwe's bracelet, which she took with her.
Both Haldir and Legolas gave her a blank expression as they examined the bracelet held out to them.
Aerin sighed. 'Men' she thought a bit irritable.
"This is the bracelet I gave Aranwe as a sign of our eternal friendship. I have the same one," she let them see hers.
"She would never have taken it off," she continued explaining.
"Maybe she had lost it while serving you?" Legolas tried to come up with a reasonable explanation of his own.
Aerin shook her head. "I also found drops of blood on the floor and a candlestick covered with blood. Do you suppose that happened while she was serving me as well?" she asked him sarcasticly.
Aerin was still angry with him for wanting to leave her and the fact that Aranwe was kidnapped didn't change the way she felt.
"The attacker was in my bedroom, I was supposed to be kidnapped and not Aranwe," Aerin told them her conclusion.
"Morion must be behind this," Haldir spoke with a thoughtful expression on his face.
"But who kidnapped Aranwe? One of Morions'orc soldiers?" Legolas asked Haldir.
Haldir shook his head. "No, I know for a fact that there were no orc sightings near or in Mirkwood. It worries me greatly, for it must mean that the attacker came from the inside."
"Someone we know?" Aerin asked, surprised at this new bit of information.
Haldir only nodded
************************** *************************
"Lat nalz albh! You stupid elf, you brought back the wrong wench!!" a dark and dangerous voice shouted at him.
Ronyo knelt before the stone throne on which his master sat, face hidden in the shadows.
"Forgive me Lord Morion, it was dark and..," his explanation was cut off brutally.
"No more of your lies! What you say you do not mean, what you mean you do not say," Morion felt irritated by his servant's failure, the damn fool couldn't even manage to capture the right girl!
Ronyo trembled out of fear. He knew every minute could be his last.
How could he have mistaken this sniggering wench for the one who had humiliated him in front of the whole royal guard?
He should have known this girl had been too easy to be overtaken by him. He looked at the bite marks on his hand. 'Well actually not that easy.' He thought to himself.
"I have failed you, milord and await your punishment," he humbly bowed his head and closed his eyes.
"No, your time has not yet come, not yet anyway. Now stand up and go back to Mirkwood before anyone notices you are gone. Nobody suspects you, yet. So you can continue to be my eyes and ears," Morion commanded him.
Ronyo was but all to glad to do his masters bidding. Beats getting your head cut off any day!
Then his attention turned towards the she-elf he had captured and was still lying unconscious on the ground.
"What about the she-elf, Milord. Shall I kill her?" he asked in a humble way.
"No, she may come in handy. She may even serve as bate," Morion let out an evil laughter.
"Now do as I have told you," he yelled at Ronyo again.
Ronyo was about to leave.
"And Ronyo," the voice of his evil master sounded through the hall.
"Yes Milord?" He asked with a trembling voice, while slowly turning his head.
"Do not fail me again!" Morion said in his most threatening voice.
Ronyo made his way out of the castle as quickly as his feet would carry him. This time he would not fail.
*************************** ***************************
Disclaimer: Hello again! It took me a while to write this chapter. Damn, still got that writers block!
The lyrics at the beginning of this chapter are by Tina turner 'Don't leave me this way.'
I also wanted to save the council meeting and the rescue of Aranwe for another chapter, actually I want to postpone the end of my story!
Till next time, see you later!
Legolaslover2: Don't we all wish we were in her place!
Aramis1: I hope your suspicions are right!
Of my life, all of my life,
I've been searching for a love like ours.
Somewhere to stay somewhere safe in your arms,
I was so sure.
Are you really saying your heart's changing?
Do you really mean goodbye?
Chapter 12: Without a trace
Legolas had silently crept out of his bed, he didn't want to wake Aerin. He looked at her sleeping form and her calm breathing.
What they had shared that night would only make it harder for him to leave her. He hadn't planned it like this, but what they did wouldn't change anything.
Legolas was still determined to leave until after she and his brother had given their wedding vows.
Aerin awoke from her slumber, she felt the void next to her in the bed. She turned her head slowly as she was still a bit dazed and saw that Legolas had dressed himself and was reaching for his bow.
"Manka naa lle autien, a'maelamin? Where are you going, my beloved," she asked, watching him closely across the room.
Legolas froze, he had hoped she would still be asleep when he left. He raised his head and looked straight into her dark green eyes.
Aerin awaited his answer, her eyebrow was raised slightly.
"I am leaving," he muttered softly.
Aerin could feel that her heart stopped beating. "Where to?" she almost squealed.
"Maybe to the grey havens," he tried to remain calm.
All the blood had seemed to be drained out of Aerin's face. She unconsciously shook her head.
How could he leave me now that I have given him my heart and soul? She looked at him with big confusing eyes not able to say a word.
"What has happened does not change anything about our situation," he stammered.
"Then take me with you." she pleaded to Legolas almost frantically.
He sadly shook his head, as much as he wanted to he couldn't take her with him.
If they would run away together, they would never be able to go back to Lorien or Mirkwood ever again.
"No, I have to go away and you have to marry my brother," he sounded determined.
She buried her nails deep into the bed sheets. Her heart broke into a million pieces.
How could I have been so naive? She asked herself and couldn't help feeling angry and used.
"How can you say that? How can I still marry your brother now?" she was near to tears, but refused to cry and show her weakness.
She stood up from the bed with a sheet rapped around her body and gave Legolas an icy stare.
"If I would take you with me. We would both be no longer welcome in Lorien or Mirkwood," he tried to reason with her.
Legolas was trying hard to stay calm, but inside he could feel he was slowly dying.
She couldn't believe how calm he kept and that made her even angrier.
"Lle wethrine amin, you have deceived me, you told me you loved me, that I was the love of your life!" she was at the break of hysterics, clenching her fists, her nails imbedded deep into the palms of her hands.
Legolas felt desperate, he would rather die than see her get hurt, but still he had no choice.
He walked up to her and grasped both her shoulders and gently shook her.
"I do love you, I love you more than life itself. Do you know how desperately I want you to be my wife? But we are not meant to be together."
They were interrupted by a knock on the door. They gave each other a meaning full look.
Aerin grasped her dress and slipped it on as quickly as possible.
Legolas waited till she was finished before opening the door. he held the door ajar and blocked the view from whom ever it was at the door.
Legolas opened the door slowly and to his surprise saw it was Haldir.
"What brings you to my door?" Legolas asked him in his most casual way.
Haldir seemed to look straight passed him, what was impossible but still.
"There is no need for this, I know she is in there with you," he told Legolas, keeping his face expressionless.
Aerin couldn't believe her ears. How could he have known? She felt a bit ashamed and relieved at the same time.
Legolas looked at her and Aerin just nodded her head. He than opened the door and took a step back so Haldir could walk into the room.
Aerin looked into Haldir's eyes and she felt a knot in her stomach. She thought she saw a hint of disappointment in his eyes, but that wasn't what worried her most. It was something else, something was terribly wrong.
"Mani naa ta, Haldir? What is it, what is wrong?" she asked him worriedly.
Haldir looked at both their faces. He had known she would be here with him. He had hoped she wouldn't have, but the way they'd danced together at the ball and the look they'd given each other made it clear to him. He only hoped Legolas was still prepared to leave and everything could be kept a secret, at least until after her wedding to Alderon.
"Aranwe is missing," Haldir spoke softly.
Aerin's heart stopped beating and her fair face turned a whiter shade of pale.
"How? Where?" She stammered incoherent, given Haldir a desperate look.
"We think she might have been taken. Where have you last seen her, Aerin?" Haldir fixed his gaze on her.
Aerin felt ashamed for leaving her dearest friend to be with Legolas. It was all her fault, if she had gone to her room, none of this would have happened.
"In the great hall, right before Legolas and I.," she stopped in mid- sentence and quickly lowered her gaze in shame.
"I have been to her room, but her bed was not slept in and neither was yours," Haldir gave her a hard look.
'So that is how he knew.' She thought to herself, hoping no one else had been in her room.
"A council will be held in about a hour, your presence will be needed," Haldir told them.
He than looked at Aerin and frowned. "You should go back to your room and freshen up. Change into another dress. Or others may come to the same conclusions as I have."
Aerin blushed a deep scarlet, she averted her eyes, fully aware of the way she looked. She couldn't erase the disappointed look she saw in Haldir's eyes from her memory. Haldir was her friend and mentor, she felt like she had let him down by keeping secrets from him.
Aerin paced to her room and closed the door behind her. She had hoped nobody had seen her sneaking into her own room. She quickly bathed herself, but she couldn't wash off the guilt and shame she felt.
Yes, it had been a wonderful experience, being with the one she loved more than life itself, sharing intimate moments all through the night. It had been pure and utter bliss.
And yes, she knew what they'd did was wrong (even though it had felt so right.) She understood why Legolas had to leave, after all, they weren't mend to be together.
Then something on the floor caught her attention. She picked it up and recognized it instantly.
It was a thick silver bracelet. Two branches entwined with a blue crystal shaped in the form of a heart in the centre, a sign of devotion and eternal friendship.
Aerin had the same bracelet on her wrist, this was Aranwe's.
Aranwe had been in her room. She knew her friend would've never taken off her bracelet.
Then Aerin saw something else. Little red spots were clearly visible on the floor. She knelt down and ran her index finger across the floor.
She examined the red colour that was now on her finger and smelled it. The scent was all too familiar. Blood!
Aerin almost panicked, it all fell into place now. Aranwe had been to her room last night, but why?
Most important of all was that this was the place where Aranwe must've been kidnapped.
She examined the room more closely looking for more signs and then she saw a candlestick on the floor. She picked it up and again she found a small splatter of blood.
Everything indicated that there had been a struggle in her room.
Then she felt a shock go through her body as she realized that the kidnapper had intended to take her and had kidnapped Aranwe by mistake, thinking it was her.
It was, after all, her room and she was supposed to sleep there that night.
She prayed to the Valar that no harm had come to her best friend. But what to do now?
Aerin made her way to the council meeting, luckily it hadn't yet started.
Frantically she looked around in search of Haldir or Legolas. Then she spotted them both standing near some trees.
As she walked up to them, Haldir spotted her and saw the worried expression on her face.
She grasped both Haldir and Legolas by their arm and led them further away from the council, both men looked at her and waited for her explanation.
"Aranwe was kidnapped in my room last night," she told them softly.
"How do you know?" Haldir asked in the same whispering manner.
"Because of this," she replied, holding out Aranwe's bracelet, which she took with her.
Both Haldir and Legolas gave her a blank expression as they examined the bracelet held out to them.
Aerin sighed. 'Men' she thought a bit irritable.
"This is the bracelet I gave Aranwe as a sign of our eternal friendship. I have the same one," she let them see hers.
"She would never have taken it off," she continued explaining.
"Maybe she had lost it while serving you?" Legolas tried to come up with a reasonable explanation of his own.
Aerin shook her head. "I also found drops of blood on the floor and a candlestick covered with blood. Do you suppose that happened while she was serving me as well?" she asked him sarcasticly.
Aerin was still angry with him for wanting to leave her and the fact that Aranwe was kidnapped didn't change the way she felt.
"The attacker was in my bedroom, I was supposed to be kidnapped and not Aranwe," Aerin told them her conclusion.
"Morion must be behind this," Haldir spoke with a thoughtful expression on his face.
"But who kidnapped Aranwe? One of Morions'orc soldiers?" Legolas asked Haldir.
Haldir shook his head. "No, I know for a fact that there were no orc sightings near or in Mirkwood. It worries me greatly, for it must mean that the attacker came from the inside."
"Someone we know?" Aerin asked, surprised at this new bit of information.
Haldir only nodded
************************** *************************
"Lat nalz albh! You stupid elf, you brought back the wrong wench!!" a dark and dangerous voice shouted at him.
Ronyo knelt before the stone throne on which his master sat, face hidden in the shadows.
"Forgive me Lord Morion, it was dark and..," his explanation was cut off brutally.
"No more of your lies! What you say you do not mean, what you mean you do not say," Morion felt irritated by his servant's failure, the damn fool couldn't even manage to capture the right girl!
Ronyo trembled out of fear. He knew every minute could be his last.
How could he have mistaken this sniggering wench for the one who had humiliated him in front of the whole royal guard?
He should have known this girl had been too easy to be overtaken by him. He looked at the bite marks on his hand. 'Well actually not that easy.' He thought to himself.
"I have failed you, milord and await your punishment," he humbly bowed his head and closed his eyes.
"No, your time has not yet come, not yet anyway. Now stand up and go back to Mirkwood before anyone notices you are gone. Nobody suspects you, yet. So you can continue to be my eyes and ears," Morion commanded him.
Ronyo was but all to glad to do his masters bidding. Beats getting your head cut off any day!
Then his attention turned towards the she-elf he had captured and was still lying unconscious on the ground.
"What about the she-elf, Milord. Shall I kill her?" he asked in a humble way.
"No, she may come in handy. She may even serve as bate," Morion let out an evil laughter.
"Now do as I have told you," he yelled at Ronyo again.
Ronyo was about to leave.
"And Ronyo," the voice of his evil master sounded through the hall.
"Yes Milord?" He asked with a trembling voice, while slowly turning his head.
"Do not fail me again!" Morion said in his most threatening voice.
Ronyo made his way out of the castle as quickly as his feet would carry him. This time he would not fail.
*************************** ***************************
Disclaimer: Hello again! It took me a while to write this chapter. Damn, still got that writers block!
The lyrics at the beginning of this chapter are by Tina turner 'Don't leave me this way.'
I also wanted to save the council meeting and the rescue of Aranwe for another chapter, actually I want to postpone the end of my story!
Till next time, see you later!
Legolaslover2: Don't we all wish we were in her place!
Aramis1: I hope your suspicions are right!