Author: Mirrordance
Title: Escape
Summary: Aragorn is lost during a tour with the Rangers, and Legolas later finds him in Bree, without his memories & happily relieved of all his noble burdens, making the elf hesitate to bring him back to who he truly was.
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PART 2
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The Lord of Imladris turned away from the beautiful sight of his Realm, upon word that Haldir of Lothlorien and Legolas of Mirkwood have arrived and were awaiting him in the receiving hall.
He nodded distractedly at the major domo, who took his cue easily and slipped out of the room, leaving Elrond to his thoughts once more. He turned back towards the view of his large, curved window.
He had informed the two warriors of the recent happenings in his House, though did not expressly bid them to come. It was only by the trueness of the honor of their nature that they made their way here, perhaps to lend their aid in any way that they could.
Though he expected they might arrive, he admittedly knew not precisely what to do with the pair of them.
He looked upon his beautiful land, with it's fiercely, roaring waters. What great splendor it held, and it gave him no surprise that it was a Haven for many a turbulent spirit. Although… he wondered where his haven would be, if even Imladris was lending him a heavy heart.
He stepped away from his window and walked towards his hall, where his illustrious pair of guests awaited him.
Haldir of Lothlorien and Legolas of Mirkwood stood feet and feet apart, though they equally stood tall and wary, and were alike in yet other respects. Both were acclaimed warriors, both were of incredibly strong wills. It was only by the countenance in their eyes did they differ, though this was a difference that set apart ice from wildly burning fire. Haldir was stern as much as Legolas was fiery, despite his carefully controlled actions. And thus did they look upon his arrival. Haldir's eyes wary but in careful waiting. Legolas' arduously searching.
~It is just as well that you arrived alongside of each other,~ said Lord Elrond, ~For yours is a dilemma that is unfortunately inextricably tied. Do you know each other?~
~Loosely,~ Legolas replied, glancing at Haldir, ~He was in attendance at Lesandro's funeral.~
~And lingered around Mirkwood long enough to have heard of your own passing,~ Haldir added, raising an eyebrow in wordless inquiry. Legolas ignored it.
Elrond frowned, then nodded, and took this to mean that they had little else to do with each other, not to mention little inclination to do so, occupied with their own worries as they each were.
~Some months ago,~ said Lord Elrond, ~Sari, an elf of Lothlorien was found at last, after centuries of captivity with some savage men who have made the mistake of attempting to pass through here. He was in ill health, and of a distraught mind, but he has been restored to his kin at last, and was on the mend. Especially by the caring hands of this house… Especially by the caring hands of those who loved him.
~Sari was once Arwen's betrothed,~ Elrond said to Legolas pointedly, ~She has long since mourned his loss. Until there was Estel.~
Legolas' jaw set. Life was so miserably complicated. He had returned from a centuries-long exile to find things much changed, but still undeniably… convoluted.
~Some weeks after Sari was found, Estel returned to Imladris for some rest after a leg of his journey with the Rangers,~ Lord Elrond continued, ~You can imagine what it was he returned to.~
Legolas glanced cautiously at Haldir, his loyalty to his friend lending him great displeasure over discussing Estel's private affairs in front of the stranger.
~I will have none of that, young Prince,~ Elrond warned him, ~You will soon see why it is important to discuss this.~
Legolas paused, still displeased, but eventually cooperated. ~Estel returned to find the love of his life,~ he finished flatly, ~reunited with the other love of her life. And Sari, ailing and in desperate need of her ministrations.~
~And so Estel left,~ said Lord Elrond.
~It is hardly in his nature to simply give up,~ Legolas argued.
~I agree,~ Elrond conceded, ~But it was always in his nature to simply give, especially in knowing it was for her own good.~
Legolas watched the Lord of Imladris, measuring, wondering Did you have anything to do with it?
~We had words,~ Elrond admitted, reading his eyes as a distant, regretful look crossed his face, ~We both recognized it was for the best.~
~What does this have to do with Estel's disappearance?~ asked Legolas, ~Or with Haldir of Lothlorien?~
~Estel left rather hurriedly,~ replied Elrond, ~But when he said goodbye to me, Legolas… how… how final it seemed. As if he never meant to return. And now…~
He shook his head, trying to shake free of a despair that has been mounting for weeks and weeks now.
~Upon word that he was seen shot down and thereafter missing after a particularly harsh skirmish between the Rangers and Sauron's aggressors,~ he continued, ~Elrohir and Elladan hurriedly left in search of him. With a despairing Arwen left here with Sari, the latter began to piece the story together, and realized he may have inadvertently had a hand in it, just by his mere presence. And so he too left in search of Estel, to keep his honor and to make Arwen happy.~
Haldir's eyes flashed. ~I was sent here by the Lady Galadriel to take him home.~
~And so both your quests have become one,~ Elrond said, ~Legolas to search for Estel, and Haldir to retrieve Sari, who is also looking for my son.~
Legolas glanced at the other elf warrior warily, not looking forward to traveling with him at all. But he turned to Lord Elrond without complaint. ~I wish to leave immediately.~
~As you would,~ sighed Lord Elrond, wishing he too could leave, but his people required his presence here, ~I shall have your horses and packs prepared, and in the meantime, I beg you take some rest while you can. Long has been your road here, and the one that lies ahead of you is even longer.~
As the Lord of Imladris turned to leave, Legolas stepped forward and said, ~I wish to see Arwen before we leave, my lord. If I may.~
Elrond turned to him and nodded, ~I think you know where she would be.~
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In truth, he wasn't entirely certain. But if all he had heard from Estel was right, then his memory would not fail him, and he would find her in the gardens where she met the stunning human long ago.
Sure enough, she was there, and her mournful eyes was such a heartbreaking contrast to how she had welcomed him the last time he was in Rivendell.
~Evenstar,~ he said softly, and said naught else for a moment, the look of her stricken face suddenly depriving him of his words.
~He is not dead,~ she said to him, ~My heart would know, wouldn't it, Legolas?~
~As would mine,~ Legolas agreed, nodding reassuringly.
~Yet I cannot feel his nearness,~ she said, ~Why is this so?~
~I know not,~ Legolas admitted, ~But you must not fear, my lady. He will return. He always has before. Of such stern stuff is that stubborn man made.~
She almost smiled, though her gloom overcast it easily. ~Is it possible to love two all at once, Legolas? Can lightning strike the same place twice? My heart is miserably cleaved.~
Legolas paused in thought, ~Hearts are made in such a way that it can give love enough for many, I believe.~
~But I cannot have all. With whom will my end be?~ she asked him, ~with whom will my Haven be?~
He stared at her for a brief moment, at a loss for answers. Now would a good time to leave, he thought, cowardice be damned. Her questions were harder to face than a band of orcs. Her searching eyes, though, kept his feet planted firmly against the ground.
~You must discover this yourself, Arwen,~ he told her, ~I will search for Estel, Evenstar. And I will find him. But you have to search for yourself, and find the answers only you can know.~
She nodded, accepting this, before enfolding him in an embrace.
~Be safe, Legolas,~ she said softly against his ear, ~Restore him to me.~
He turned away from her and walked back towards the house. In afterthought, he honestly found that it was the road she traversed that was more perilous than his own… searching for oneself in a sea of hesitation and doubt. He would know, for it was a path he had long since crossed.
Be safe, yourself, Arwen.
TO BE CONTINUED…
