Title: Light After the Storm, Chapter Two: The Path of Love's Unevenness

Author: Nefertili

Fandom: Lord of the Rings

Pairing(s): Aragorn/Legolas

Rating: PG

Genre(s): Romance, Angst

Warning(s): SLASH, meaning same gender relationships. If you are disturbed by this, read no further. Don't say I didn't warn you. There is also violence in here.

Author's Notes: Well, finally managed to take up my hand and type this up. Sorry for the inconvenience. I had writer's blocks and school seemed to turn into a concentration camp…Anyway, be warned, and I mean it! I'd torture Legolas here for preparation for…the next Chapter. Well, all will turn out well in the end so read on!

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Legolas rushed to Imladris' stables as fast as his Elven feet could carry him and his nearly breaking heart. He found them completely deserted save for some wizened old horse and his very own beautiful white Arod. They had all clearly left him alone to see Aragorn and Arwen's wedding in Lothlorien. Carefully but quickly, Legolas fastened the horse's bridle and seat to Arod.

"We haven't time to lose, Arod," Legolas whispered to the horse before mounting it. He led the stallion out of the stable, jumped on his back with the command, "Noro lim, noro lim!" [Run on, run on!]

At once, Arod broke into a gallop. Legolas guided him out of Rivendell to a path that would take them to the designated wedding place. They skirted across the coniferous forests blanketing the Misty Mountains, nearly invisible to the eyes of other beings because of their speed.

Legolas sat calmly on his horse and held his reins serenely, yet his heart and soul were not at rest. They were elsewhere, threatening to leave the Elf's body entirely when the time came. The Prince of Mirkwood was fathoming about the turn of events as the forest floor shuddered with the repeated pounding of Arod's hoofs.

"Why didn't anyone tell me?" he asked himself miserably. "Why didn't they even take me with them to at least see Aragorn…for the last time before Mandos claims my soul?"

Out of the blue, his thoughts were interrupted by a swiftly flying article which cut its way through Arod's path so rapidly it initiated the air around it to whistle, causing the stallion to rear up on its hind legs in surprise.

Legolas firmly held his horse's reins in order not to get thrown off as he stroked the animal's coat in an attempt to calm him down. Despite his assurances, however, it took Legolas a while to pacify Arod's nerves and to stop him rearing.

"It's gone, it's gone, whatever it is, Arod," Legolas guaranteed the horse while stroking its mane just above the ears. "Arod, you're all unharmed, are you not? Let's-AAARRRGGGHHH!''

The Elf was nearly thrown off balance and Arod would have started rearing off again if not he cared for the welfare of his master rider. The veering object lashed out once more from the shadows of some nearby pines and hit Legolas directly on his face. He automatically clawed at his skin, and he was dismayed to feel stinging pain from a gash that marred his features and to see his fingertips mixed with blood.

But it was not the end. The thing turned around a cypress and once more aimed for the Elf. This time, Legolas was not caught unsuspecting. He ducked the sweeping blow that might have struck him. Legolas squeezed Arod's sides as he ordered the horse frantically to run.

"Noro lim, Arod, noro lim!"

Arod need not telling twice; he had sensed the danger that was falling on him and his Elven rider. Faster than the wind, Legolas and his horse sped up deeper into the forest. They were still being pursued by the dark entity. Legolas couldn't see it directly; it was moving so quickly that its image was blurred even to Elven Eyes. Twice, the Prince of Mirkwood was caught unwary and he was knocked on his left arm and right leg. The force tore through his clothing and blood was seeping from the wounds freely. Legolas, however, was too occupied in dodging the thing's attacks to bind up his slashes and stop the bleeding.

The creature, no matter how fiercely it struck at the Elf, did not seem tired of the chase and was far from giving it up. Arod, too, received several cuts along his shanks, but unlike Legolas', they were shallow. The pursued horse continued galloping in order to save him and his master from a more terrible fate.

Gradually, the forest began to thin and the ground even out from the mountains. But the entity continued on acting at its ferocity. Rather, it seemed furious of having not been able to inflict the Elven Prince more harm as they tried to escape the forest. Once it got the chance to strike on Legolas, it gave its all to bring the Elf down. Out of nowhere, it sprang out from the darkness and hit Legolas head-on and deliberately on his waist.

Legolas grunted in pain as he held on to Arod's reins for dear life. The attack nearly off seated him, and blood began to flow from the new wound steadily, staining both his garments and his horse's velvety coat as well.

The forest rang with the strained Elf's repeated cries of agony. The black thing had found Legolas' weakness; it had penetrated through it and left him destabilized. It took advantage of Legolas and began to speed up all the more and hit the Elf all over his body in all directions so rapidly that it all seemed to happen at the same time. When Arod finally reached the break of the forest, Legolas' body was torn on all places and his fair hair was disheveled from its braid. The creature lashed out for the last time and struck Legolas on his back, sending him moaning on the hard stone ground as he muttered Aragorn's name over and over, as though he had lost everything.

***

Halfway through the aisle, Aragorn, Arwen's hand in his, seemed to hesitate. The son of Arathorn felt as though something ripped from inside him. He didn't know if his ears were deceiving him, but he thought he heard Legolas screaming out his name, his voice strangled by great pain.

A tug on his elbow brought Elessar back to the existing world. Arwen was pulling at him with annoyance; all the guests were staring at him with their mouths slightly open. Lord Elrond half elven, in the front row of pews, raised one of his dark eyebrows slightly.

"Anything wrong? What is keeping you?" Arwen asked more out of impatience than concern.

"Nothing at all, Arwen," Aragorn muttered inaudibly as he continued his fateful walk, yet he didn't hear any note of the glorious wedding march or see the beauty of the temple where he was supposed to be wed. His heart and mind were fluttering out of the realm of Lothlorien to search for Legolas, his lover whom he had forsaken.

"Arwen said he will come," Aragorn thought as his bride continued her tugging at his sleeves. "She said he only will be delayed by some business that was sorely his own. I wonder what that is…and if Arwen means her words."

***

Legolas was nudged awake by Arod. He gave a shudder as the cold wind stung his torn flesh. The attack of the…the…whatever it was, brought great strain upon his body. The wounds now inflicted all over him were more fatal than any orc wound he ever had. The creature was surely more than an orc.

Painfully, Legolas managed to stand on his feet by leaning on his horse. He looked at his surroundings carefully. There was no sign of the flying black thing they had encountered a while ago. It seemed to have disappeared back into the dark forests of the Misty Mountains that they had left behind. Near them were the gates of Moria, farther on was Durin's stone overlooking the Mirror Mere. Sooner or later, they will reach Lothlorien.

Out of a sudden, Arod let out a frenzied, frightened neigh that alerted Legolas. He immediately looked behind him to find out what frightened his steed. It didn't take him long to find it. Directly behind them was a huge snake that cast a large shadow over them both. At first, Legolas couldn't recognize what the monster was, but an image from old books which he once studied in his homeland came to his mind and gave him the answer.

It was an Ascar-lyg, translated, means violent snake, which it really was. It was the second most feared of all Elf-banes next to the Balrog. A creature from the rebellious, evil Valar Melkor, it was a foe one would not dare face. The serpent was more than twenty feet long; it had a protective shell that left arrows and other weapons broken as they fell from the face of the monster. A sail ran over its top from head to tail, oozing poisonous grime that eats the skin bare where it touches it throughout its body. Like a cobra, it can expand its rib cage to form a rounded sail around its head. The tips of its powerful whip-like tail had sharp dagger-like edges that could snag skin to ribbons. But the most fearful of all its traits is that the Ascar-lyg possesses venomous fangs longer than an average man's palm. Green venom, which gives its victim a slow, painful death by preying slowly on its organs from the outermost until it stops the heart from beating, trickled from the fangs and out of the fearsome mouth. Legolas was stunned to find an Ascar-lyg in the Misty Mountains, as records show that such creatures had ceased to exist upon Melkor's downfall and they only could thrive in the Land of Shadow, Mordor.

There wasn't much time to speculate on the matter, as the Ascar-lyg, upon realizing it had been spotted, gave a roar so loud and high that it would have broken the eardrums of ordinary mortal men and sent Legolas' disheveled hair flying.

Legolas sprang up on Arod's back and they once more galloped in an attempt to get away from their pursuer. The Ascar-lyg was fast for its size, however, and it wouldn't be taken with so easily. It overtook the Elven steed and blocked all possible paths of escape with its poisonous body, bearing its long dagger fangs at both Elf and horse.

It was then did Legolas find out he was completely unarmed, save for the long white knife he always carried with him. He drew it shakily from its sheath, though he doubted if it would even pierce the Ascar-lyg's strong armor scales.

"Can't you let us pass?" Legolas demanded of the monster. He held his knife with one hand and Arod's reins with the other. "We have no time for this, creature of Melkor!"

The Ascar-lyg was not discouraged. It let out its earsplitting roar once more before attacking, opening its cavernous mouth wide and striking down at Legolas and his horse with venom trailing out of its horrifying teeth. Splashes of slime fell on Legolas and Arod; it brought the horse rearing and the Elf clawing at the lesions, which seemed to burn all skin it touched, leaving patches of dark, bloody sores in several parts of his body.

Legolas, amidst the pain carefully led Arod into leaping out of Ascar-lyg's reach many times. But he knew they couldn't keep on doing such. The only escape is to defeat the huge serpent, which seemed an impossible task, with all the wounds stinging in Legolas' body.

At a quarter of a second, the Prince of Mirkwood made up his mind on what to carry out. He leaped down his horse and whispered to it, "Run away, Arod, you must not get hurt!"

The horse nudged his nose on his master's face sadly; his eyes reflecting regret that it could do nothing to prevent such things. Legolas however was insistent and he comforted Arod. "You were of great help. But you must not stay or you will be gone! Run, Arod, don't look back, don't come back! Master will be all right!"

This time, the Ascar-lyg lashed out for the two once more. Arod finally heeded Legolas' pleadings and galloped away from the place. Legolas stayed and he maneuvered his feet skillfully to escape the thrust of the serpent. It caused him a terrible price, however. The very action caused blood to spurt from the open wounds.

The battle of the serpent and the Elf proved to be a deadly one. The Ascar-lyg was lashing out at Legolas so quickly that time came when the rocks beneath them gave way, leaving them at the banks of the Mirror Mere. Legolas clung on to all the lessons his warrior life taught him and the thought that he would win Aragorn once more; he clutched his dagger more tightly.

Legolas tried to use the chance when the rocks collapsed to escape from further damage, but the serpent was too keen-eyed. The Elf had tried to penetrate the most vulnerable parts of the monster's shield, but he knew it was hopeless. The only weak point, as far as he can see, was the Ascar-lyg's armor less underside. But how ever could he strike it there? The monster was becoming more and more aware of the Elf's gaining weakness; once more, it struck down on Legolas.

Legolas tried to muster his strength to leap up just as he had done before, but his energy deceived him. The serpent lashed down at him, and one of its deadly fangs cut through his arm, leaving a gash dripping with the venom which left Legolas pained and burning all over his body. But the devil wasn't finished. He felt as though ten metal whips struck him at once in his back when the Ascar-lyg thrashed its spiked tail at him, sending him battered amongst fallen rocks, intensifying his torments even more.

The pained Elf could only scream with the twinge that was slowly eating through him and feeding on his remaining energy as he was slowly being drained of his life's blood. He was dying, but no, he must not, for Aragorn, for his love.

Legolas shot a glance at the Ascar-lyg, as though waiting for him to deliver the final blow, but he was surprised to see the monster struggling to regain its composure and get back upright, exposing its unprotected skin from beneath. The thrashing motion it had done before left it as such.

The Elf did not stop to think. He exerted nearly all his efforts as he grabbed his dagger once more with his good hand and with his famed ferocity, sliced through the Ascar-lyg's exposed underside from its head to its tail.

Legolas left the dagger in the monster as he ran for his escape. The Ascar-lyg began to emit screams and wails of pain and defeat. Gradually, it dulled, and finally, ceased to be. Legolas didn't look back; therefore, he didn't see how the Ascar-lyg reached its end. It first dissolved into the dark entity that attacked him and Arod in the forests of the Misty Mountains before finally dropping back into earth as ashes.

The Elf ran and ran, but he was terribly exhausted and wounded for him to continue. Legolas slumped down the grass of Lorien when his feet couldn't carry him anymore. The Ascar-lyg poison was taking effect, preying fist on his wounded arm, gradually spreading throughout his tormented body.

Tears were on his eyes, not for his corporal pain, but for the pain in his heart. "Oh, Aragorn; am I to pass away like this, without you even dreaming of the tortures your beloved underwent for you…" His words were choked by his tears as he closed his eyes to wait for Mandos to claim him and take him away.

But instead, Legolas felt gentle nudging on his face. Legolas opened his eyes to find a horse looking at him out of curiosity. He would have thought his eyes were paying tricks or it was Arod if not for its brown coat. It was Hasufel, Aragorn's horse.

"Hasufel," Legolas croaked, reaching out to pat the horse's brow. "Your groom fell asleep from pipeweed again, didn't he?" He was forced to smile at the thought amidst the pain and the ebbing of his life's blood.

Hasufel seemed to recognize Legolas, as he immediately began to lie down beside Legolas to nudge him to mount the horse. Legolas gratefully gave in, and before he knew it, he was on horseback, riding through the mallorns of Lothlorien to his love, who would have been lost to him forever if not for Hasufel's coming.

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Well, that's all for now. You wouldn't know how hard it is for me to torture someone…but I assure you, HE WILL BE OKAY.