Disclaimer: I own nothing.
*************Chapter 44**************
Legolas sat at his and Eredor's table…only he was alone. Eredor was sitting and eating with the other men at the other side of the room. It had been this way for five straight days.
Eredor had not won the tournament. His strength gave out under the hand of the same man he had always lost to before. Legolas found himself somewhat glad of this. At least this way there was no way Eredor could take Eressa away from him…forcefully, anyway.
The elf didn't look over his shoulder to see what his former friend was doing. He just sat, and stared into the swirling depths of the soup in his bowl. The light from a window was shining on his back, giving him some physical comfort, but not emotional comfort.
He didn't understand. He didn't understand humans and their emotions. He remembered the day when he and Eredor had been working on building the new arena, and Eredor had jested about Legolas loving Eressa.
It's not like I would mind if you did. Eredor had said to him.
Legolas frowned. Obviously, that had been a jest too.
Since the day Eredor defeated him in the arena, Legolas had been extremely nervous around Eressa. He told her everything about what had happened, and she had tried to comfort him…but it didn't work. Before he knew it, Legolas was turning away from her embraces, mumbling something about her brother would not approve it. She retorted by saying that she was a full-grown woman now, and that her brother didn't own her. But still Legolas didn't feel the same. For the first time, he actually thought that the romance shared between him and the human girl was wrong.
And for the first time, Legolas knew that it was wrong. And it made him wonder…if Eredor had reacted so negetivily to the fact that he and Eressa were involved, what would his people think? What of his father and the elves?
They would never approve. Legolas thought. They would say I belong with another one of my kind.
Deep in his heart, Legolas knew he did. He belonged with another elf. But he didn't want that. He wanted to stay with Eressa, to live and die with her in happiness. But because of his race, he'd never have that. Silently he cursed himself for having been born an immortal.
Legolas barely heard the guards begin to bellow for the slaves to regroup into their lines. It was only when one of them came over and yanked him up by his hair did he notice.
He left his bowl of soup on the table untouched.
**********
That night, Eressa arrived at Legolas's cell without a smile on her face. She approached Legolas shyly as he sat, still as a stone on the bed. His knees were hugged to his waist, making him appear smaller than he was. It reminded Eressa of a child. She did not like to see Legolas that way.
"Legolas?" She asked. "Are you alright?"
Legolas glanced up sadly and shook his head. Eressa sighed and joined him on the bed, bending forward to kiss his lips—but he turned his face away at the last moment. Eressa frowned. He'd been doing that—turning away from her comforts and signs of affection—for days now. Ever since the tournament. Eressa knew it was because of how her brother had reacted to finding out that she and Legolas were involved. It seemed so long ago that she last tasted his kisses.
"Don't you love me anymore, Legolas?" She asked, hurt.
Legolas whipped his head around in shock. "Of course I do. I always will."
Eressa shook her head. "You aren't acting like it. And just because my brother was upset when he found out about us?"
"But he's right, Eressa." Legolas argued. "I should have told him sooner."
"That may be…" Eressa said half-heartedly. "But still…"
"Eressa, I don't want to speak of this." Legolas interrupted, turning to stare at the wall. Valar, he could barely look at her anymore. How could he continue to love her the way he had?
"Of course you don't!" Eressa countered angrily, but then her voice softened into a sad whisper. "You…you…you never call me 'melamin' anymore."
Legolas looked up sharply. It was true. He'd been using Eressa's real name the last five days instead of his usual pet names for her. "I'm sorry." He said softly.
"Sorry?" The girl asked. "That's not good enough, Legolas. That's not what I want."
"What do you want, Eressa?" Legolas questioned, surprising himself by looking directly into her eyes.
"I want you to love me again." Eressa answered sincerely. "I want you to kiss me for once, and kiss me like you love me." She leaned forward.
Legolas's eyes darted from her eyes to her lips and back again. He brushed a stray hair away from her face and then leaned in and kissed Eressa long and soft. As if it was automatic, she snaked her arms around his neck and pressed herself to him. But he didn't respond any further. He just didn't feel it.
Legolas pulled away. "I'm sorry, Eressa." He murmured. "I can't. I can't anymore."
Eressa drew in a sharp breath, and she felt the familiar sensation in her eyes as tears began to fill them. Slowly she got up off the bed and walked towards the door. Her hand rose up, but she hesitated in knocking, taking the moment to turn back one last time and look at Legolas. He had turned away, and was staring at the wall next to the bed, not watching.
Not caring.
Blinking to hold back the tears, her hand finally rapped on the wood.
"Guard! Guard!" She called.
When Legolas heard her call he abruptly glanced up, confused. "Eressa?" He asked, setting his feet on the ground.
"Eressa?" He asked again. "What are you doing?"
Eressa didn't turn to him. She heard the sounds of footsteps approaching and knew Legolas could hear them too. "I'm leaving." She said flatly.
Legolas stood up. "Leaving? You can't leave!" He began to approach her.
"I most certainly can." She retorted. "There's no point in me staying with you anymore…you obviously don't love me."
Legolas grasped her shoulder and gently forced her around. "But I do."
Eressa's anger overwhelmed her. "You do not. You never did. You just used me, that's all!"
Legolas's eyes widened. "That's not true!"
Eressa shook the elf's hands off her shoulders roughly, the tears sparkling in her eyes. "Don't touch me." She said, her tone cutting deep into Legolas's heart.
He began to become afraid. He feared she would leave him. Forever. He feared being alone.
"I won't let you go." He said determinedly. He tried to reach for her but she again flinched away. The footsteps came closer. "I won't lose you!" He cried.
"You already have." Eressa said coldly. She surprised herself as the words slipped cleanly out of her mouth, and when she saw the terribly sad expression on Legolas's face she was shamed. But then again, he had hurt her…and she felt the need to hurt him in return. Suddenly, the door behind her opened, and a guard appeared through it. He seemed amused.
"Eh…you rang, miss?" He said, sneering at the elf across from him. Legolas's eyes shot him a killing glare, changing completely from the large, sad orbs they had once been to two hard, black, impenetrable ones.
"I'd like to leave." Eressa said simply and soundly. That surprised the guard.
"Is he hurtin' ye?" He asked her after a moments pause, gesturing to Legolas.
Eressa looked away from Legolas's eyes as they again turned to her and pleaded with her to reconsider her decision. But her mind was made up.
"Yes." She answered, her voice barely audible.
"That's not true!" Legolas suddenly blurted, earning a glance of shock from the guard.
"Well, that's the most I've heard out of ye!" He said, smiling a little. He then turned back to Eressa. "Come on then, miss."
He turned out the door and Eressa began to follow him. But suddenly she felt a dull pain as Legola's hand closed tightly around her upper arm.
"No!" The elf cried, suddenly more afraid then he ever remembered being in his life.
"Let go!" Eressa yelled loudly, and the guard turned back to them.
"Hey!" He shouted, pulling a club from his belt. "Let her be, elf!"
Legolas paused to snarl at the guard but didn't release his hold on Eressa's arm. The guard raised his weapon and started forward. Eressa screamed. Legolas suddenly realized that with Eressa between them she might get hurt. His hand relaxed it's grip on her arm, just enough to let her pull away in her struggling. Legolas was so emotionally distraught that he didn't realize the guard was still coming at him with the club, until he felt it's impact on the left side of his head…the side that had been split open just weeks before.
Eressa screamed again and closed her eyes, but that didn't help her ears from hearing the thud of wood against flesh and the sound of Legolas being knocked back into his cell.
The guard had knocked the elf back only a few feet…but even though he was dazed and his head was bleeding again, Legolas was still strong, and he recovered quickly. When his eyes again gained their focus, the guard was shutting the door to his cell…with Eressa on the other side of it.
"NO!" He screamed, and rushed at the door with all his might. But it was too late the door closed and the locked clicked before he reached it. His body collided with the solid wood and iron, making his muscles cry out in pain. But he didn't stop. Some foolish thread running through his mind made him think he could break the door down and win his love back.
"ERESSA!" Legolas screamed. "ERESSA!"
Eressa tried not to listen to his cries of agony and heartache as she and guard that had retrieved her rushed down the hall to the door to the mansion. At last, she felt the tears spill out of her eyes, and slid warmly down her cheeks. She wanted to hate herself.
Legolas had used her…used her for his pleasure, and lied about it…hadn't he? Why else would he suddenly not want to embrace or kiss her? It was because he had grown tired of her, that was it. Wasn't it? Eressa wiped the tears away with the back of her hand, only to have more stain her cheeks and drip onto her dress, making dark circles in the fabric. He had never loved her. Or had he? Either way, it didn't matter…
She still loved him.
********
Inside his cell, Legolas pounded weakly on the door until he collapsed from exhaustion, his pants quickly forming into sobs.
Eressa had left him…he couldn't believe it…and he deserved it. Suddenly he wished that he had not hesitated in returning her embraces and kisses…suddenly he wished she was still within earshot so that he could call to her and tell her that he was sorry and loved her more than his own life, even if it meant revealing their love to everyone in the corridor.
"Oh…Valar…" Legolas sobbed, his head dropping into his hands. He wanted to die. He wanted the Valar to take his soul so that he might die, that he might swim along with his brother and others that waded into the Stream of the Dead.
"Eressa…" He sobbed softly. "I love you still…please know that…Valar, please come back to me…don't leave me alone…"
But only the darkness embraced him that night. Legolas stayed where he was, bleeding. His healing gash had been partially reopened by the guard's blow to his skull. But he didn't notice or care.
He fell asleep in tears that night.
***********Personal Thing***********
Damn…can't these young hormonal things ever get along?
Sorry it's so short. You know me…I have to end it right when you can't wait to see what's gonna happen next.
And for you lovey-dovey types (like me): Don't worry, the romance isn't over….
Elainor: Thank you! Your glad Eredor won? Hm…interesting! Thank you again! Bye!
breeNbloom: Mine are over with now too. But I have yet to see my grade in chemistry. *winces at the thought* Thank you for your compliments! Bye!
Truffles: Yes, I do have over 500 reviews. I think I rule! BOULDERS?! WHERE!!? *holds up shield and whimpers*
Whitecoyote: Thank you very much. You thought Eredor would kill Leggy? NO! I'd never kill my beloved elf! *huggles Legolas* Thank you, I'm glad you liked the last chapter so much!
eternal_dragon: Thank you! Hehe—man on man action…I like how your mind works…it's like mine! Well, I can't answer all the questions now, but all will be answered in time…in fact, I think I answered most of them in this chapter…thank you again! Bye!
LegyLuva: Hey! Thank you! I know, Eredor is over-reacting. But I had to do it. When the opportunity comes up to cause more angst, I must do it! I don't know why! I must have some sort of disorder! Poor Leggy! He's even poorer now! Thank you and also, thanks for supporting my other story! Love ya! Bye!
darkangelgep: Yes, Eredor did say that. I flashed back to it in this chapter. So you got your answer there. Thank you! But Eredor already did something he's gonna regret…you'll see in the next chapter.
Legolas_gurl: Thank you! Did you pass your Spanish test? I hope so. I haven't heard anything about my chemistry final yet. Yes, poor, poor Legolas. What do you think of this chapter? Now he's even poorer. I'm so evil to him. Sorry, Legolas. Don't worry, everything will get better soon! Thank you again! Bye!
Crystal Snowflakes: Thank you, Crystal! Have you updated your story yet? I'm waiting eagerly! Thanks again!
DiamondTook3: Poor everybody! But Legolas has got it the worst of all of them…I think anyway. Some might argue that now it's Eressa, since she's the one who thinks Legolas don't love her no more. Poor them. Don't worry, everything is gonna get better. *laughs evilly* And then I'll screw everything up again!
XxDarkgoddessxX: Thank you! *picks out pieces of confetti caught in hair* Sure, you can have the keys to Legolas's cell. They aren't the original, but they'll get you in! Hehe! Really, you think my style of writing has changed? How so? I'd like to know. But thank you very very much! I love you forever, girl! Bye now!
The Noble Platypus: Heya! Nope, as you read, Eredor didn't win. He lost to that same guy as before. Oh well. If that had happened, it would have messed up everything I've planned, but you are very right (as always), that would have been interesting, especially if Eredor could have come back and tried to take Eressa away from Legolas. Unfortunately, in this chapter, he kind of has. Poor Legolas. See, this is what I think boulders will fly for. And then some stuff later, that I'll have whole buildings shucked at me for! Well, I have to go now! Bye! PS: I did ok on my American Literature final, but that's the only one I know! Thanks for asking! Love ya!
Deana: Hey girl! Yeah, ain't it terrible what's happening to Legolas? *giggles and squirms* Oh, I love it. Poor elf. As long as he's in my fanfic, he'll never have it easy! Poor him. You are right, Eredor did say he would approve of Eressa and Legolas in a relationship before, but I reviewed that in this chapter, so he was kind of joking about it. (To be perfectly honest with you, that was a mistake and I just had to cancel it out so this thing would work—hehe) Thank you!