Author: Mirrordance
Title: Last Stand
Summary: The battle at the Black Gate leaves Legolas strange wounds that do not heal. He knows he is slowly dying & keeps it a secret, as he tours the fleeting mortal pleasures of the world before his last breath. He finds an unwilling coconspirator in Eomer
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4: Strange Friends
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Rohan
3019
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Estel had been right then, just as he'd been right about a whole lot of things since. Legolas thereafter woke with the rising of the sun, and found his wounds on the mend. The seven-year-old adan was asleep over his folded arms next to the bed, and still had a desperate grasp upon the hand of his new elven friend. How silly it was, to have the fool of a boy as an inspiration, possibly even an anchor, in the world of the living. The things he said just seemed to touch Legolas' hungry heart.
Smiling sleepily, Legolas woke him up, and told him to go back to his room before Lord Elrond saw him. The boy grinned at him, his child's heart knowing things were well at last, and he expected no less than that.
* * *
Legolas sighed at the memory, watching the fire that danced before him. And so he carried a piece of Estel's heart since, a part he admittedly did not know what to do with, now.
Estel helped heal him then, of that he was sure. The adan lent him strength and hope. But the same love and caring that sustained him years ago was killing him now with all of his well-founded fears of losing it.
He desperately feared to lose Estel as he lost his mother, as he lost his brother, as he lost a lot of his kin to the war. Circumstances along the length of their journey through the War of the Ring created these possibilities constantly, but he remained strong and resolute, in order to prevent Estel's death as much as he could.
Now, post-war… he knew that there were things written in the stars and far beyond him. Estel will die, he was simply made that way. Legolas could do nothing about it but wait. There was no orc to fell, no enemy to slay. He could do nothing but wait, and watch.
His old sickness returned with a vengeance, alongside the refreshed grievances of his heart. The wounds would not heal. He was very slowly and very completely bleeding to his death.
Why did he have to find an anchor in life that was so ephemeral? Could he not instead love say… a rock, or something which lasts longer than a life so easily extinguishable? He was theoretically an immortal, threatened only by a broken heart. Did the damn thing have to love so much and so completely that it would kill him to lose?
He reached for the bandages he hung before the fire. They were thankfully dry by now, and he worked with replacing the rain and blood-soaked bandages that he presently wore.
Gathering his strength, he raised himself to his feet and slipped into the fresh robes he'd been given. He felt warm and dry, and inexplicably drowsy… or maybe not so inexplicable, he decided. He's lost much blood, it really shouldn't have been a mystery…
He sat upon the bed, almost experimentally.
Soft, he thought, almost salivating at the idea of lying down upon it ensconced in blankets.
He let himself fall against the soft mattress sideways. He had time, he figured, for just a small nap before meeting the King of Rohan for dinner.
* * *
"Do you not know that a King waits for no one?" Eomer greeted him good-naturedly as he hurriedly stepped into the dinning hall.
"I'm sorry," Legolas said breathlessly, "I—"
"I was kidding," Eomer told him lightly, waving away his worries. He watched thoughtfully as the elf regained his composure and walked toward his place more calmly. "You know, I'm quite flattered, actually. I've never seen you so rushed or harried. It didn't take the horde of Saruman to do so, it did not take the servants of Sauron. It was me."
"I do not like being impolite," Legolas said with a small smile as he slid to his seat, at the King's right. Eomer sat at the head of the table.
"I did not think so," Eomer chuckled, motioning for the spread of food before them, "Eat. Elves are made entirely too thin. Scrawny. Especially you."
Legolas laughed, surprised. "Scrawny?"
"It was a hyperbole," Eomer said wryly, and though he meant to kid, he looked upon the weary elf with refreshed eyes. Legolas was paler than he remembered, and he did not think that was even possible. The pasty white of his skin shed its old resonating glow, looking dulled and sickly, rather than ethereal. He was, indeed, thinner. His cheeks were hallowed, and his eyes were dark-rimmed. And though these things did not preclude him from being as notably beautiful as before, there was something different about his gaze, as if some light had faded. This saddened Eomer in a way that he could not understand.
"I'm not the only one who doesn't eat," Legolas said suddenly.
Eomer blinked at him. "Excuse me?"
"You've been looking at me as if I've died," Legolas told him dryly, "Eat your food, sire."
"I was not," Eomer said, turning to his attention upon hearty meal with gusto.
"You've prepared entirely too much," Legolas told him, picking on his food. He was not hungry. He was weary, and put the daintiest pieces in his mouth only out of diplomacy.
"Don't think it's for you," Eomer chuckled, "All this is for me."
Legolas smiled upon his plate, and then looked up at Eomer with a wistful expression on his face. "Your heart is much lighter."
Eomer mulled over the statement. "I suppose. The broader threats have been eliminated. Our eyes must now turn to the lesser dangers of the South and the East. But I no longer feel so alone. Blood may yet be spilt, it may even be my own, or that of my countrymen's. But these hardships will surely be weathered, with our side emerging at the top."
"You are so certain," Legolas commented.
"The men have found their captain," Eomer said, "My sister worded these most perfectly." He chuckled, "I regret to say she hadn't exactly been referring to me."
"It looks to me that the Lady has a partiality for the men of Gondor," Legolas teased.
"So it seems," Eomer conceded, smiling, "I do not disapprove. She is there still, enjoying the company of her other heroic Gondor fellow."
"Who certainly enjoys her in turn," Legolas pointed out, "She is very spirited, and very beautiful. Her heart is a wonder to behold."
Eomer's brows raised, "Should I read anything into that?"
"No," chuckled Legolas, "The words convey only what they mean. These are compliments freely given."
"She will be flattered to receive such favor from the elven kind," Eomer said, blinking in remembrance, "Which raises another question. I suppose I never really knew… are you married?"
"Not to my father's great regret," Legolas laughed, imagining the mighty King of Mirkwood aching to chase after a bevy of grandchildren, "But I am a very proud uncle. And I am a good one."
"Last I saw you before this was Elessar's crowning in Minas Tirith," said Eomer, "You left in a hurry and I wondered if perhaps you fled back to your home."
"I considered it," Legolas replied, "But it should have to wait some other time."
Eomer stared at him through slit, perceptive eyes, "Until you finish whatever it is you have set out here to do, I presume."
"Yes," Legolas replied, reaching for a drink of wine, "And no. Home will wait until I've finished my business. But this is business that was not meant for conclusion in Rohan. I did say I was simply passing through."
"Aye," said Eomer, "You did."
The uncertainty brought a pall to the conversation. Eomer was curious… perhaps even suspicious, as life taught him to be. He was still not quite sure about the mysterious elf, who had risen from some strange, reclusive kingdom out in the north, and heartily gave his aid to mortal causes which were in a lot of respects, not particularly his own. Eomer did not understand that kind of charity, our strangely-driven devotion. He could not even say that he and Legolas were great friends… he knew very little of the elf and until now, found little inclination to remedy the situation.
"Apart from riding a horse," Eomer said, "I don't think I've ever seen you off your feet."
Legolas' brows rose. "Indeed?"
"You seemed perennially guarded," Eomer commented.
"We knew each other in times of war," said Legolas, "I suppose it makes sense to be cautious. As we've all had to be. I remember," a smile curved his lips, "I remember very well, how you looked upon us the first time we met."
The elf lowered his voice, and mimicked the grave tone of Eomer, "I would cut off your head if it stood but a little higher from the ground."
Eomer laughed, surprised. "I cannot forget."
"It was rather abrasive," Legolas teased.
"You were no less combative," Eomer pointed out.
"The dwarf was a friend," Legolas said evenly, "And he was threatened. I saw no other recourse."
"Loyalty that I admire," Eomer told him, "What strange friends you've made in your lifetime. A dwarf. Affiliations with humans and hobbits, and wizards and fat old horses. And now here we are, sharing a meal days after you've looked upon me from the lethal end of your bow. What strange friends you've made indeed."
"I know," Legolas chuckled, though there was a dimming in his eyes that were hard to miss, "How greatly do I know."
And how often do I regret.
TO BE CONTINUED…
MASSIVE THANKS TO ALL WHO TOOK THE TIME TO READ!!!
THANKS ESP. TO MY REVIEWERS: elveneyes, sundiata, msl, pethron, starlit hope, silvertongue, keithan, sodalite, LOTRfaith, xiad rusco, arayelle lynn, pie, kitty, jenihenpen, tychen, faeliel, by-stander, stoneage woman, amy, althelas, dragonfly, ladyantari, halandleg4ever, angelmouse5, Kirsten, platy, jopru, deana, gozilla, elessar*lover,
To elveneyes: I think he really is going to die, don't kill me! that's how it looks to me right now although, as always, the muses can always change my mind :)
To msl: it's just grief :) I'm really sorry to be so confusing. I guess the fact that the timeline keeps jumping doesn't help much either :) but as I said, it's experimental and I hope it's not too bad, haha!
To keithan: wow, thanks! I really work hard to keep them plausible, and for my OC's to be at least marginally likeable, haha :) thank you :)
To sodalite: yup, that would be me :) when I usually say something I see it done, haha, so what happened in my two other fics where Legolas died ("Estel" and "Journey's End") will likely happen here too :)
To kitty: it's going to be like a present-past-present-past-present story :) jumping from one timeline to another, like flashbacks and stuff :)
To tychen: ah, to find him again… I'm not so sure. Right now, no, haha. But as always, that could very much change :) we'll see :)
To stoneage woman: I've yet to read and review your story and for that I'm monumentally sorry. It's just that when I get caught up in a project, I have to keep going at it until it's done :) i'll make the time soon, truly :)
ON THE NEXT POST: the next part will be a flashback, set 15 years after "Finding Estel." Legolas meets Strider for the first time :) Thanks again and 'til then!!!