************Chapter 46**************
The next day, Legolas again sat on his table, alone, his soup in front of him. The thin mixture swirled as he leaned his head on one hand and stirred the liquid with the other.
He hadn't eaten in what seemed like forever. Actually, it was since yesterday. But he was hungry despite of it. He wanted to eat, but he felt he didn't have the energy. He didn't feel he had the energy to do anything.
His face bore the results of last night. His eyes were red and his lids barely could keep open. He hadn't slept so much as a wink since Eressa had left. He foolishly believed that one of these nights she'd come back to him. It hadn't happened, and he was losing hope in everything.himself.freedom.and life. Being an elf, he could go long periods of time without sleep, but four days of not sleeping and being driven around by Angarod was taking its toll on him. He felt weak, inside and out, and he felt that no miracle other than Eressa coming back from him could save him.
Legolas knew very well what was happening to him. He was dying. Slowly. As the elves did if their heart was broken. Legolas's was purely shattered. And it seemed that each time he tried to pick up a shard of his heart, he only cut himself deeper on the sharp edge, bringing himself closer to death.
And Legolas wanted it. He couldn't imagine living without Eressa in his life. Even life as a slave was better than a life without love. So why live? He only hoped it would happen sooner.
Legolas set down his spoon, watched it as the droplets of soup from it dripped onto the wooden table. That was when he sensed somebody approaching him from behind.
Legolas didn't move. It was probably a guard, come to give him a hard time. They liked to do that. But they hadn't been able to get a good reaction out of him the past four days, and had switched to taking turns whipping him whenever they felt like it. Legolas braced himself for a whiplash that he was sure would come across his shoulders any second.
But it didn't come. And Legolas sensed the person stopping, heard his footsteps falter. It only lasted a moment, though, and then the footsteps fell into steady rhythm again. Legolas thought he recognized that rhythm.
"Legolas." The sound of his own name was something new to the elf, and he blinked, his drowsiness somehow gone. Who had said it? Who had found out his name? Legolas was almost afraid to turn around and find out, so he didn't move.
"Legolas.it's Eredor. Look at me."
Legolas's thoughts exploded. Eredor?! What in the blazes was he doing, talking him up like this?
I'm crazy.Legolas thought. My grief has driven me to madness and I'm imagining all of this.
"Legolas, I'm going to say what I have to, whether you will look me in the eye or not. Turn around." Eredor's voice trembled.
Legolas didn't listen. He didn't obey. So the voice continued.
"Legolas, I'm sorry for what I've done to you." Eredor said. "I should not have reacted so strongly and so angrily. I want you to forgive me for what I've done."
Legolas didn't move. He was afraid to.
"Legolas, please." The voice said again. Legolas sensed the person come around him and for the first time in nine days he was able to look at Eredor.or what his crazed mind thought was an image of Eredor. "Look at me."
"I am looking at you." Legolas said suddenly, surprising himself.
"It seems like you're looking through me." Eredor said. He slowly sat down on the opposite side of the table.
"I don't know if I am or not." Legolas answered again, unwittingly. "Are you real?"
Eredor blinked and made a face. "What?"
"Am I just mad or are you really here?" Legolas said, a bit louder, unable to control his voice.
"I'm here." Eredor said. "I'm apologizing to you Legolas."
Legolas was a hair away from pinching himself. What on this earth could have so suddenly and soundlessly changed Eredor's mind about all of this?
Still, his mouth kept answering: "I know." He replied.
"So.will you forgive me for the way I treated you?"
"If you forgive me for the way I treated you."
"But you didn't treat me wrongly."
"Yes I did."
"But only because you thought it would upset me."
"It did."
"You're right."
"So why are you here? What happened?"
Eredor looked away as the elf, who was still only beginning to believe that this was reality, leaned forward and stared at him. He bit his lip and answered.
"Aleka." He said.somewhat ashamed.
"Aleka?"
"Yes." Eredor answered. "She came to me one last night.she told me everything." He looked up sadly at Legolas. "She told me that Eressa left you."
Legolas felt a fresh stab of pain in his heart as he heard that name spoken. "She doesn't love me anymore." He whispered. "She thinks I used her."
"She loves you, Legolas." Eredor pressed. "Aleka told me. She's miserable without you. And it's all my doing, because I didn't approve."
"But I didn't tell you what I should have told you." The elf insisted.
"Yes, but I was the one who overreacted." Eredor said, his eyes darting in nervousness. "I'm sorry."
Legolas stared long and hard at the young man in front of him. The world was silent. The voices of the other slaves at the opposite end of the room disappeared. The calls of the guards to one another vanished. All Legolas heard was his own breathing. Eredor tried to stare back at him, but failed. His eyes fell to the wooden tabletop, full of shame and sorrow.
"I forgive you, Eredor." Legolas finally said, very slowly. "You were only trying to protect your sister."
"I know, but she doesn't need my protection when she is with you." Eredor said. "You could protect her much better than I ever could."
There was a pause, and the world became silent and still again. But then Legolas spoke.
"Eredor?"
"Yes?"
"Was this the real reason you were upset with me?"
Eredor blinked. "What?"
"The fact that you can't protect her any longer." Legolas clarified. "Is that the real reason you were angry?"
Eredor blinked again. "I really don't know." He said. "I.I just.got angry. I." He struggled with the right words to say, but finally they all poured out of his mouth.
"You're right.I've been away from her for so long.thinking I couldn't protect her.when I felt the urge to protect her from you, it was overwhelming. It all just came out. I needed to protect her from something, like a brother is supposed to do."
Legolas nodded slowly. His eyes left Eredor's face and drifted back down to his soup.
"You haven't eaten." Eredor said matter-of-factly. "I've been watching you."
Legolas looked up sharply. "I'm not hungry."
"Legolas.you must eat." Eredor said. "You'll die if you don't."
"I already am."
"What?"
"I'm dying."
"No, your not."
"Yes, I am."
"How?"
"The only other way an elf can die, other than being slain.heartbreak."
Eredor shrank back. Legolas was suffering from not being with Eressa, just as Eressa was suffering from not being with him. Eredor became deeply distressed at the thought of Legolad dying-because of him. He quickly thought of something hopeful to say to the elf.
"She still loves you, you know." He said softly, about Eressa. "Aleka told me."
"But she will not come back to me." The elf answered, knowing who his friend was talking about immediately.for she was all he had thought about for four days and nights He added grimly: "I've waited every night since she left."
"She'll come back tonight.or the next night, Legolas." Eredor urged. "Aleka said she'd convince her."
"She thinks I don't love her." Legolas's ice-blue eyes were dragged down to his soup again.
"But you do."
"Yes."
"Then she knows. She'll come back to you." Eredor said, even though he wasn't sure.
Legolas lifted his eyelashes and again glanced at the man. His eyes were blank, yet they pulsed with emotion. "Do you think so?" He asked, with a quietness Eredor had never heard before.
The young man swallowed, and shakily smiled. "Yes, I really think so." He said.
**********
Eressa stood in front of the door that she'd left through four nights ago, trying to keep the whole of her body from shaking.
This was stupid.I never should have let Aleka convince me to do this.She told herself, and then instantly was ashamed.
Time ticked by in slow motion as Eressa watched the guard that had escorted her here pull out the cell keys from a pocket in his shirt.carefully choose the right one.place it in the keyhole.turn it.and the door opened.
Eressa walked in. Her heart was beating so fast that she could hear it inside her head.
Legolas laid on the bed, unmoving. His eyes were open, but they did not turn to her as she entered. Eressa didn't move. She just stared at him. It took her a while to finally figure out that he was sleeping.
Asleep, the moonlight the only thing covering him. Eressa approached him cautiously, not wanting to wake him. As she got closer, she noticed his eyes were reddened. He'd been crying.
Like I have.Eressa said to herself.
Eressa stood in front of the sleeping elf for what seemed like forever. He looked so much younger when he was still, like a child. His body was partially curled up, making him appear smaller in form. His blanket laid crumpled on the floor, tossed away by the elf in his sleep.
Eressa bent down and picked it up, feeling the course fiber between her fingers. She could almost hear the scraping of the wind from beyond the tiny window to her left. She shivered, but not because of the cold.
Legolas was so still. Usually when Eressa saw him, his body hummed with warmth and life. He always had color in him. But now.now he was bathed gently in the blue moonlight, painting his body a cold and icy shade. It was frightening to Eressa, to see him like that.yet, it was beautiful.
Carefully, she draped the blank over his sleeping form, smoothing it around his body as a mother would to a newborn child. Through the thin material of the blanket she felt the warmth of his body, and Eressa suddenly had the urge to wake him, so that he might surround her in that warmth and take her.
"Why." She whispered. She intended to wake him at first, but as her words went on she changed her mind and let her voice sink down into a low, smooth volume. ".why do you do this to me.make me love you?"
Eressa knew the answer to that. Everyone did. She didn't need Legolas to answer her.
Eressa's eyes floated upwards to the wall next to the bed. Legolas had scribbled more on the wall. Elvish letters laid scattered across the rough texture of the bricks and stone, almost glowing when the moonlight shone on them. She recognized a few of them, as Legolas had been slowly educating her on Elvish before she had left.
E.R.E.S.S.A.She spelt in her mind after much thought. My name.
"Legolas." She said softly, the word like a spear in her tongue. She hadn't dared to say it so long. She looked back down on the elf.
Eressa felt her knees buckle beneath her as she kneeled down beside the crude bed. She leaned forward and folded her arms under her chin, her face inches from Legolas's.
"I love you, Legolas." She whispered again. "I." She let her last sentence hang in the air.
Her heartbeat was slower now. She could no longer feel it in her skull or in her fingertips. Her emerald eyes grazed over Legolas's sleeping form once again. One of his hands was rested before his face, on the wood of the bed. She gently took between her hands and held it there.
Then she set her head down, and slept.
*************Personal thing*************
Hi guys, sorry for the terrible long period of time between updates lately.but there's this huge choral performance I'm taking part in and I'm up to my nose in practice. Plus I just had my crush, who doesn't know that I'm crushing on him, who just thinks I'm his friend, tell me "I won't just go out with people cuz they like me. I won't do anything." and now I'm discouraged. Well, he's going to prom with me anyway, so HA!
Rachel13: Okay, okay! I'm updating! And if I have to bribe Paul, this kid who works at the theatre and who I would never ever even look at (well, maybe a little-he is hot) under normal circumstances, with sex, I WILL SEE TROY GOD DAMMIT!! You can't force me away from my Orli! *hugs lifesize Orli cutout* Heh! Thanks!
Whitecoyote: Yeah, Eredor deserved it. He's such a jerk. But he redeemed himself in this chappy. And that thing about Orlando and Kate being married.IT'S A LIE!!! A DIRTY, STINKING, ROTTEN LIE!!! Everyone knows he's gonna marry me once he gets bored with her. Thanks!
Black Sheep Alone: Thank you! I will update as soon as possible! Thank you again!
Truffles: *laughs*
breeNbloom: Actually me and my friends were talking about saving up and actually doing that. Renting the theatre out, I mean. But I don't know if they would let us do that. Well, thanks!
XxDarkgoddessxX: Hi! Thank you very much. I wanted to see the new Troy ads on the net, and I tried, but I could only hear the sound! No picture! *cries* Damn sever! I'm glad you liked this chapter. But no, I have not seen Peter Pan. I probably won't until it comes out on DVD or something. But you make it sound good. You're lucky when it comes to guys! I'd pay big money for my crush to pat me in an unmentionable place! Hehe! Thanks again! Bye!
LegyLuva: OH, my god! Leggy wasn't in the last chappy! I didn't even realize that! Coolness! Hehe! Thank you very much and I'm glad you enjoyed my chapter!
darkangelgep: Yep, Troy is gonna rock my socks, and I don't care what my crush says: He's going to see it with me. (Sorry, I'm gonna talke a lot about him since it's getting close to Valentines Day.) I think it will scar him for life. I bet money it's gonna be rated R for a hot and heavy sex scene, and well.let's just say he's a hard-core Christian who doesn't even like it when I say the word "Hell" or "Damn." OH well. It will be funny seeing his face. Thanks!
Legolas_gurl: Good for you! Keep up the band-leader-ness and the good-grades-ness! I'll keep up on the hopeless-chasing-of-a-crush-who-just-thinks-I'm-a-friend-ness! I'm gonna go see Troy with him..even if I have to tie him up and stick him in the trunk of my car.Thanks you!
HalandLeg4ever: Hey you! Thank you! You might think you know what's gonna happen.but you have no idea! *laughs evily*
Crystal Snowflakes: Oh, ok! Tell me when you're done with your chapters! I'm eagerly waiting. Thanks for the review, girl! PS: Hey.hows the new (well, he's not new anymore) boyfriend thing going? I hope alls well! Bye!
The Noble Platypus: Hey, I checked out your Live Journal, and now I want one! But I shouldn't get one because then I'll have this, and school, and my social life, and my three choirs, and ARG!! You see what I mean. But I checked out your icon and by GOD your PINK!! Coolness! NO! Not Aleka and Eredor BOW CHICKA WOW WOW! Roseblade and Kevin BOW CHICKA WOW WOW! Damn, that kid is hot. And you know what's really hot about him, Platy? He don't even try! In fact, he tries not to try! *swoons* Sorry, Valentines Day is coming so I can't stop thinking of him. Kevin is my crush's name. Soo.Thanks you! I hoped you liked this chappy! I liked it! I'll tell you a secret.it's not the Palace Healer that's gonna find out Eressa's.um.condition. It's someone else.someone unexpected..oooh.but that won't happen for like a long time, so you'll have to wait. Sorry! And I'm not gonna comment on your prophecy because that would ruin the story for you if I told you anything. Sorry again. And you'll have to wait a very long time for the next sequel. Believe it or not.I think this story.the one your reading right now.is only about half done. I know. I know. It's terrible and long. But I've learned from it. This is what I've learned: Eressa is the luckiest goddamn chick in the forking world! Hehe! Thank you so much Platy! Your like my best friend! I love you! Bye now!
Deana: Thank you! Always trying to stick a little funny stuff in there with all this depressing stuff too! I'll update as soon as I can, as always! Bye!
DiamondTook3: Hope you don't mind being stuck at the way bottom! Thank you though! Your comments make me smile! See? ^_^