Once Upon An Age
Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Tolkien's work but I do own anything that isn't real, etc. Basically I own anything I thought up. Don't know if this idea has been used before but **** happens. (Evil grin).
For the lovely reviews: Thank you so very much…. I enjoy reading your reviews and I hope more people will start to review this story.
Courtney(): Elle thought she loved Camlin but Legolas is her soul mate. Arawn is a character I'm having fun playing with while his purpose is to have Elle as his plaything… It'll make sense in the end.
Chapter Six: Which one to choose.
Legolas stood on the shore watching the Elves of Valinor greeting those he had just brought with him. Elrond had been stunned to see his beloved daughter walk towards him and had found it hard to believe that she had lived so long in Earth and he had had no idea.
Gimli approached him in the company of Frodo, "You've been away too long my friend. I hope you shall be staying here?"
Meeting Frodo's eyes, Legolas looked away sadly before looking back at the ships, "I do not know Gimli, there is someone who did not come with us this time who belongs here with the rest of her kin."
The hobbit nodded, "You want her to come here and stay with you forever don't you Legolas?"
"She is special to me Frodo, you would understand if you had met her. Elle is the Evenstar as much as her mother is. But Arwen isn't her mother I guess, since Elle is descended from Arwen and Aragorn…." The blond Elf struggled to find the words to say, his mind to locked on the thought that he must leave soon.
Looking over at him, Arwen nodded and turned back to her father, "Father, back in the kingdom ruled by Arawn, we left my daughter. She is the last of the line that Aragorn and I founded and so alike me is she that we could be twins. The body we brought with us was Camlin, a man who loved her enough to take a deathblow to save her. Legolas is going to go back for her in the hope that she will come… he loves her more than life and I believe that she loves him. I would hope that Ellette will come back here with him for I hold her dear to my heart, as my own child."
Elrond studied his daughter thoughtfully, wondering at the change in her. She looked a little older than she had when he'd last seen her but otherwise she was unchanged. Arwen was still the Evenstar of the Elvan people. "My daughter, if and when your Ellette comes, I will welcome her with open arms as my granddaughter. I am sure that Galadriel will do the same."
As if hearing her name, Galadriel appeared with a few of the Lothlorien Elves. Her golden hair was pulled back in a plain braid and she looked overjoyed to see her granddaughter standing there with Elrond. Beside her, Celeborn walked with an expression of happiness.
"Welcome to Valinor, Arwen Evenstar. Where is your precious daughter Ellette-Arwen Eolande? I was hoping that she would be here with you where she belongs." Galadriel looked around and her eyes rested on Legolas. "Oh my, my… I fear that he will be going back to find that he has been betrayed by a friend."
Arwen's eyes widened, "Grandmother, what do you mean? My Elle will not betray him will she? I do not think she would, not after loosing Camlin."
"Not her though she will be the cause of the betrayal. To many people want her for their own that she is confused. No, Legolas is the one for her though there is one who would stand in their way and another who will possess her mind due to the crimes he has done against her." The White Lady spoke softly, knowing that Legolas was aware she was there.
Celeborn nodded, "If would have been better if you had insisted that she came here with you but Arawn can be rather commanding and forceful. There had to have been another reason why he demanded that Ellette remain in Annwn until Legolas came for her."
"He wanted her to stay?" Arwen asked, "When did he ask that of her?"
Her grandmother told her, "When she asked her boon of him. His response was that he would bring you all through to Annwn where Legolas could then bring you here to Valinor but if he did that for her, she had to remain in Valinor for as long as it took Legolas to come back."
"We must bring her here as soon as we can!" Elrond exclaimed, "I never did like Arawn of Annwn, he struck me as a deceiving man."
Legolas heard what Elrond said and came over to them with Gimli and Frodo trailing him. "Is my beloved Elle in danger? I do not see how that could be for Arawn promised me that he would watch over her until I came."
Gimli growled, "No man will harm Ellette and not expect retribution from me. Let me at those who would hurt her!"
"Legolas, I did not say that she was in danger… just that Arawn might have mislead you about his intentions towards her. I believe that you will be returning to Annwn only to find that you have been betrayed by a friend… a friend who is not Elle for she would never hurt you on purpose." Galadriel stared at his blue eyes, seeing the anger growing there.
He nodded his head curtly and turned to Arwen, "I will take a ship and return to Annwn. Never fear for I shall be back soon enough and with me I will bring our Ellette. Tell me Gimli, care you for another adventure with your old friend?"
The dwarf smiled, "Aye, but will I need a weapon?"
"I do not think so. Bring one anyway." Legolas spotted Haldir, "Haldir, what say you to rescuing the daughter of the Evenstar?"
The one time March Warden smiled, "You have my hand in it. I shall come with you and help in the retrieval of the great-granddaughter of Lady Galadriel."
From behind him emerged Glorfindel, long time friend of Elrond's. He smiled at Legolas before coming to stand beside Haldir, "And I shall come to. Let the four of us go forth and bring back the daughter of the Evenstar to where she belongs. Let us go forth, we who come from Rivendell, Lothlorien, Mirkwood and the Lonely Mountain. May Arawn know what anger he has stirred in the hearts and minds of the Valar by keeping one of our own away from us."
Elrond, Celeborn and Galadriel smiled at each other, knowing that it would be through their cooperating that the four would be able to bring Elle back. Bidding them go, the Elves watched as the four boarded one of the ships and set sail back to Annwn.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Arawn stirred from his slumber, feeling the motionless form of Elle against his own body. Looking around, he smiled before planting a kiss on her lips, withdrawing his magic from her mind and commanding her to awaken.
Her eyelids fluttered open and her gray eyes stared up at his face in confusion. Tears formed unbidden and she let out a soft sob. "Legolas? Where is my a'mael? And where is Camlin?"
He touched her face gently, "Camlin has passed on Eolande, and you know that. As for the Prince of Mirkwood… well he returned to Valinor without even bothering to come and find you to say goodbye. I do not know if he will be returning or not."
Sobbing uncontrollably, Elle wished that Legolas were there with her. She remembered nothing after she was shot in the shoulder and had no idea how long she'd been in Annwn or even how she had gotten there. Wondering if Arwen knew she was safe, she couldn't help but curse herself for ever running off to find Camlin when they were leaving 'The Sanctuary'.
"It is alright to cry sweet Eolande for you have lost a friend and your kin have gone on to Valinor without you. Perhaps they thought you would be better off dealing with your grief before you sailed on to the Undying Lands?" He murmured in her ear, holding her closely against him.
"No! Legolas would never do that…. He would never leave me behind without telling me that he would be back. Legolas loves me and I love him…." She cried, tears falling from her eyes.
Leaning in to kiss her again, Arawn was surprised when she pulled away from him and fled off into the forest. Leaning back against the growing wall of the bower, he shook his head in amusement, knowing that he would be able to find her in a second when he put his mind to it. Clapping his hands together, the Faery King summoned a group of Faeries to him, their wings fluttering around him in a group as they listened to his commands. Flittering off into the trees, the Faeries knew what they had to do and they went about doing it.
They were to 'fence' off a small glade with vines and climbing roses, leaving only a small gateway open. They then went about finding Elle and working out a way to chase her into the glade they had readied.
When she saw them coming though the trees, Elle knew instantly that they had been sent by Arawn to find her. Fleeing away from them, she did not know that they were driving her towards a trap of sorts. It was only when she came to a sliding halt in front of a wall of rose thorns that Elle reevaluated her situation and turned around to flee back the way she came.
Only to come face to face with another wall of rose thorns.
She walked around the glade, stunned at the woven wall of vines and climbing roses, which formed the fence keeping her in. Even as she looked, the roses all started to bloom, each flower perfect and deep magenta. It dawned on her that perhaps Arawn's intentions were not to be trusted and that the sooner she found out where Legolas was, the better.
"Arawn! Let me out of here this instant!" She cried out, pacing the confines of the glade. "You know that Legolas is going to come back for me!"
He emerged from the trees, a stunning king dressed in green and red. The ever-changing eyes focused on her, the hue a light green with flecks of gold showing in them. He smiled, holding out his hand to her.
"Come now Eolande, do you think that I would lie to you when I said that Legolas will not be coming back? Once I treasured his friendship but now I see that it was false and that he will never let me rest for keeping you here."
Elle growled, "That is because I do not belong here! You have no right to contain me here when I should be going to Valinor with the rest of my kin!"
"They left while you were asleep and recovering from your wound. Remember that your one time friend shot you in the shoulder? I healed it for you and yet no thanks have you offered." He stepped closer.
Backing away from him, she closed her eyes and thought of Legolas as she'd last seen him. "I love Legolas… it is not fair of you to stand in our way when all that is good and right has said that we are to be together. Once I thought you were just but now I see that you are not. Perhaps I chose wrongly when I came here for your aid in bringing the remaining Elves through so they could go to Valinor."
"Oh Eolande, you are misled! As with Camlin, you only believe that you love Legolas. I know that you want me and that given the time, you will realize that. For now however, I shall have to leave you for there is trouble afoot that I must see to." Arawn smiled and turned, fading back into the trees.
Left alone, Elle didn't know what to do. She honestly couldn't understand why so many seemed to want her but when she told them that she didn't want them, they could not let go. Perhaps men were all fools and couldn't see that she wasn't interested in them. Thinking about Legolas again made her realize that it might be that Arawn had run off to deal with her beloved before he got a chance to find her.
"This will hurt, I am sure of it…." She muttered walking over to the wall of vines and roses where it was the thinnest.
Searching for stems which were not covered in thorns, Elle broke them apart so she could force her way through. Eventually she managed, though scratched and bleeding from doing so. The wall tried to close on her but she made it to the other side and laughed thankfully when she did because it meant that she was free for the time being.
Looking around, she decided to strike out in a direction that she hoped would lead her to the shore. If she went to the shore then surely she would be able to find someone who would help her escape from Arawn… she might even find some other Elves.
Seeing her out of the glade caused the Faeries to panic and some flew off to find Arawn while the others tried to get her to go back. She swatted at them angrily, knowing that they wished her back in that glade where she could not escape. They moved back from her but still followed, twittering in annoyance.
Upon reaching the edge of the forest where she could see the ocean beyond, Elle spotted the ship pulled up on the sand and cried for joy. The Faeries all flew down at her as one and tried again to get her to go back but to no prevail.
"You will not escape me that easily Eolande!" Arawn said from behind her.
Spinning around, Elle's eyes went wide at the sight of him. He was dressed in black; his ebony hair ruffled by the wind and his eyes a dark shade of green. What disturbed her most of all was the fury, which shone from with-in and for a moment, she almost cried out with shock.
Waving his hand at her, Arawn caused the vines on the earth to grow up around her legs, holding her where she was. "You will not be leaving Annwn now Eolande… no, not ever will you leave."
"You cannot keep me here Arawn!" She whispered, "For I do not and I never shall love you. How could I when I know who my perfect soul mate is? You could never compare to Legolas."
"Never? I do not think you will hold to that very long sweet Eolande. Besides, what is there to compare between Legolas and I? I am a king and he is just an Elf. He is nothing beside me and you will come to see that in the end." The Faery laughed, shaking his head.
Trying to delay him for as long as she could, Elle spoke again, filling her voice with anger; "You are no king if this is how you treat those who come to you for help! Legolas knows how to treat people and he is by far nobler than you shall ever be. There is nothing you could ever do or say that would make me love you. I love Legolas and in my eyes, no one is greater than he."
"No one but me Eolande! No one is greater than I am, not even Legolas. Believe me when I say that you will learn to accept this and to accept that Annwn is your new home. Let go of him for you will never be with him and he shall never have you."
"That is what you say and you are wrong!" Legolas cried, appearing on the shore behind Elle.
His bow was drawn, the arrow aiming at Arawn. Beside him, Haldir and Glorfindel were ready to go to Elle's rescue. Slightly behind the three blond Elves was Gimli, struggling to get over the wet sand.
"Legolas, what an unpleasant surprise. I wasn't expecting you back so soon from Valinor… or with company that is." Arawn turned his eyes upon the prince and smiled maliciously.
"Legolas be careful!" She cried, trying to escape from the vines which held her so that she could get over to him. "Beware for he will not hesitate to kill you if he can."
No one bothered to pay attention to Gimli despite the fact that he had made it to firm ground and was now walking confidently over to Elle. He smiled at her and fingered the ax hanging from his belt.
With his whole focus on Legolas, Arawn didn't notice Gimli slashing at the vines holding Elle and letting her free. "It is a pity you came back so soon Legolas as I was hoping I would not have to hurt you. Now really, do you think that she will ever be happy to settle down with one such as you when she could have me?"
"Yes, I do think she would choose me over you Arawn. I know this because we are soul mates and no one can divide soul mates." Legolas growled at the man he once called his friend.
"Indeed, I do choose Legolas and I say that I hate you Arawn." Elle made a few backwards steps and came to a stop beside the other Elves.
Lifting his hand, Arawn smiled. "If that is so, you have made your choice."
