Color of Distress
Disclaimer – As Julius Caesar once said "I came, I saw, I conquered." I came, and I did see/read the Lord of the Rings. Unfortunately, I have not made any military or literary conquest over it. So there, it is not mine.
A/N: Ahahahah! This chapter was up a lot quicker than the last one, so I'm feeling particularly proud of myself. *glances at pile of physics homework* However… there were… consequences that came of this… *lugs twenty pound textbook to the desk and begins working* Anyways, happy reading!
Chapter 7 – "So you lied to me."
Legolas drifted slowly back into the present, and seeing the rabbit again made him sick. Swallowing hard, Legolas stumbled away from the fire to behind a patch of bushes and retched.
"Legolas?"
It was the last voice he wanted hear. Legolas knew that the ranger stood right behind him and wore a look of deep concern, and he did not want to turn around to face him.
Instead, he saw the rabbit being cooked again in his mind, the scent rising from it, and he vomited again until he emptied what little he had eaten. Legolas wiped his mouth and stood up to look at Aragorn.
"I did not think a gagging elf would be this interesting to watch." Legolas said coldly, turning his head so he could not see the rest of the fellowship eating.
Aragorn sighed in frustration. "I came to see if you wanted help, Legolas. You are not well."
"I am well. It is only that my stomach does not appreciate cooking rabbit." He replied, biting his lip to stop the urge to vomit again. Legolas swayed slightly on the spot.
"I'm sure if you told them the smell upsets you, they would not cook it like that." Aragorn said, reaching out to steady his friend.
Legolas jerked away. "I'll not be seen as weak." He said bitterly. "Or maybe that it what you intended."
Go on….
Tell him…
"What are you talking about?" Aragorn asked cautiously.
"You are jealous, Estel. Jealous that I am an elf and that you are only a mere human. You want to be seen as the strongest member of this party, but you truly know that I am stronger. So now you want be to belittle myself." Legolas pronounced this in a quiet, dangerous voice.
"It is true I admire your battle skills, but I have no reason to be jealous of you." Aragorn said as calmly as he could.
The elf's stormy eyes flashed, a sign of the coming danger.
Gimli swallowed the meat and looked over to where Aragorn and Legolas were standing. He took another bite and tried to listen in on them, but Merry and Pippin's laughter at some joke drowned their intense conversation out.
Bother. Now I have to get up to see what the matter is now
He made some hurried excuse and quickly approached them, slowing down as he got nearer. Aragorn looked weary from the argument and Legolas' face was tinged pink as he went on in a low voice.
His tone sent shudders through Gimli. It was the same way he spoke in the woods of Lothlorien where he nearly stabbed Gimli. Flat, yet full of anger and hysteria.
It now occurred to Gimli that Legolas might not have finished the Galadriel's potion. His hand dove into his pocket where he tightly held the little bottle.
How on earth do we give this to him now?
A brittle laugh filled the air. Gimli cringed to hear his friend go on like that.
"You have every reason to be jealous of me, Estel. Not just for my skills, but my immortality." Legolas' pleasant lips were now curled into a sneer.
Aragorn bristled. "Where are you going with this?"
"Arwen." Legolas waited patiently, knowing he had hit a sore spot with Aragorn.
Aragorn began to turn red with fury.
"I believe Lord Elrond has already told you the consequences of you loving her. Oh, you can marry her, yes, once this quest is over, but then she will be left alone here for eternity once you die." Legolas said, smiling as if he were playing a game.
And he was playing a game, Gimli saw. A dangerous one that was played on so many levels. Within himself, with Aragorn, and even with me.
"Are you truly that selfish?" Legolas asked, taunting. A cruel glitter in his eyes made his previous statements even more venomous. "Can you leave her here even after you are long dead? But again, you may die on this quest. Perhaps it will be better for Arwen this way."
Aragorn remained silent, although his fists were clenched into hard balls.
Gimli groaned loudly, shocked to the core Legolas had actually said those words.
Legolas turned his disdainful gaze to Gimli. He was suddenly terrified of Legolas, just as he had been on that night in Lothlorien. He became doubly afraid. Would Legolas hurt himself and attack us again?
"So nice for you to have joined us, dwarf." Legolas stressed the last word sarcastically.
"Legolas, you must calm down." Gimli said steadily. "This is getting out of hand." He glanced nervously at the campfire where the hobbits and Boromir sat, eating. "Perhaps we should move farther away."
Aragorn shrugged impatiently. Gimli looked to Legolas, who, to his surprise, began stalking off further. Gimli sighed in immense relief, and followed them quickly.
Legolas turned around to face Gimli, and kneeled so he would be at eye level. Gimli took a sudden step back at this, but stared back adamantly at the elf. Legolas' gaze bored into him.
"Tell me something." He said softly. "Would you ever try to hurt me?"
"Of course not." Gimli replied, aware that Aragorn stood near. He was ashamed to think of the ranger as protection from Legolas.
Legolas began shaking in silent fury. "Then why… why do you try to poison me?"
Gimli tried not to back away, but fear took hold of him. He scrambled further away and stood next to Aragorn. "I would never try to poison you."
"When then, was the liquid you put into my water?" Legolas demanded. He stood up and glared at them.
Aragorn looked at Gimli, who looked back at him, stricken. He shut his eyes briefly and shook his head. "Legolas, I will explain." Aragorn said finally. "Back at Lothlorien, while you were unconscious, Galadriel gave to you a potion that stopped the voice. It was called nwayla faire. She told us that it would be difficult for you to think while you were under it's influence, which is why Gimli and I had decided not to speak of it with you. "
"So you lied to me."
"You would not have taken it on your own." Gimli said stubbornly.
"You are correct." Legolas said. He began to pace angrily. "I wouldn't have. But do I not have the right to make my own decisions just as much as you?"
"Of course you do. But Legolas, you were in no condition to be making decisions like that then." Gimli said.
"Enough." In the pale moonlight, Gimli saw that Legolas' eyes turned several shades darker.
"Enough."
They lied to me…
They betrayed me…
The man demeans me…
The dwarf poisons me…
But no more.
Startled, Gimli moved closer to Legolas out of habit and concern. "Legolas, listen to us." He said. "Take Galadriel's potion. It will help you."
"You always seem to think that the worst things for me are the best things." Legolas said, his darkened eyes unsettling. His voice suddenly rose to a shout. "And did I not say that I've had enough?" Legolas grabbed Gimli by the shoulders and slammed him against a tree, pinning him there.
Gimli stared at Legolas dizzily, stunned. He felt a line of blood slide down the side of his face. "Legolas?" he stammered.
"Let Gimli go." Aragorn commanded. He stepped closer, his hand on the hilt of his sword.
Legolas noticed. In a motion quicker than the eye could see, he drew his knife. "I will kill him if you come closer." He said dangerously.
Aragorn stopped dead in his tracks. "You cannot mean that," he said hoarsely. "Gimli is your friend, as I am."
"So I thought." Legolas spat.
Gimli wiggled in Legolas' strong grip, trying to free himself, but to no avail. "Legolas, this is madness." Legolas raised the knife, the same one he cut himself with, and studied Gimli with a look of dawning realization.
With horror, Gimli saw what Legolas was going to do and began struggling wildly. "Legolas, stop it now or you will regret this!"
"Legolas, fight it!" Aragorn shouted to him. "Maeth ha, Legolas!
The elf looked wildly from Gimli to Aragorn and back again, confused. His face was contorted with concentration. "Be silent!" Legolas' words pierced the still air.
Kill them and be done with it.
Do not listen when they say they are friends.
But…
Did they not lie to you?
Yes…
A true warrior would not hesitate to dispatch an enemy. Weakling.
Then, at the same time:
Legolas, stop it now or you will regret this!
Legolas, fight it! Maeth ha, Legolas!
I do not want to listen to any of this!
"Be silent!"
To be continued
Well, that's all for this round. And heck, look at that. 96 reviews. My word, that's insane. It's so great that I no longer feel overwhelmed by physics.
Cheysuli: I apologize a million times for accidentally messaging you. As you can see, physics is really bugging me right now. I keep talking about it. My teacher 'forgot' to mention two important formulas that we needed for today's work, and I went absolutely crazy. Thanks for reviewing!
Rainy: It's a good thing a write the thank yous before I send the e-mail out, or I would have missed you! *sighs in relief*
Lady-Daine: Er…. Elvish in correct grammatical structure?? The vocab is right, I'm pretty sure, but as for grammar…well... I must confess, I placed words the same way I would have written in French. *hangs head* I have no idea how to use grammar in elvish.
Soulsearacher - arbariel: *bows back* I love doing that. And when I updated, I had the exact same reaction. (YESSSSSS I UPDATED!!) I went further through my reviews and realized you reviewed for chapter 5 and 6! And I have read your fic, it was amazing. Wrong tense. It IS amazing.
Daw- The little end bit was bad of me. I wanted to write a Legolas childhood fic with that scene in mind, but I couldn't come up with a proper plot for a story to use it in. But it worked out for me in the end, I suppose. Thanks for the review!
Lirenel: *grins* Yep, Legolas the crazy elf. Or the elf in the process of going crazy. I'm horrible. I need sympathy for the characters.
Anyadvorak: *cringes* Oh lord, the summary. I cannot, for the life of me, summarize. But thank you for reviewing, I'm glad you're liking it so far.
Erhothwen: *gasp* I love crazy straws!! And I'm pretty bad in theatres. At that scene you were talking about (Legolas and Aragorn arguing) I literally jumped up and yelled "Get him in the face, Leggy!" Too bad he didn't.
Wicked Misty: Yes, the poor rabbits. Rabbits will forever thank Legolas for not eating them. ^_^
Dream Keeper: *chokes as shirt collar is grabbed* Okay… I got it up as quickly as I could! And this chapter should answer most of the other questions you asked. ^_^ Muse….. hmm…. I need to get this concept straight. A muse is one of the mythological Greek ladies of the arts, right? Am I supposed to have one?? (As you can see, I know nothing.) And 5 people from your school?? Holy cow! Tell them I say thank you for reading!
Shinzui: Cookies!! How ironic. I'm actually eating some cookies (oatmeal) as I type this. I've slightly changed how the voice it done, because it's starting to - *claps hand over mouth* Mmphf. Can't say much more. Thank you for the review! As for the elvish, it's off a program I've downloaded called Dragonflame. I can't recall the link, but I'll look it up for you.
St.CatherineEvangelineWoodsorel: Based on your review, I think you are the only person that doesn't want him to go crazy! Unfortunately…. The voice is at it again.
Merrylyn: Printed out the stories… wouldn't that take a ton of paper? And thank you. I'm turning red with pleasure as I read your review. (and by the way, a stupid question that popped into my mind. You spoke of lifesavers… what colour? ^_^)
As I've gotten quite a few requests for the update e-mail, I figured it must be somewhat of a time-saver. So I'll just continue to offer it. Just let me know if you want the e-mail, by either leaving the request in a review or e-mailing me. And that settles the ending note, I think. Yup, it does. As for the next chapter, I'd estimate about a week, but I can't promise anything. Could be more or less. ^_^