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Chapter 13
War and tenderness
A terrified Gimli who shook him violently brought Legolas back to consciousness. The elf was immediately reminded of the blazing pain in the back of his head, which lingered even though the bleeding had subsided as usual. He blinked, trying hard to focus his gaze on his companion's form.
"You must stop this, you´re crazier than Saruman himself! Mad elf, what am I going to do with you?" the dwarf howled.
"I´m feeling better, I brought Aragorn back".
Gimli stared at him, that Legolas still was in pain was obvious and something was changed with the elf. He was even more pale than usual and seemed also more ethereal, although his dark blue eyes shone brighter than before. This did not lessen his beauty, rather the opposite, he just seemed more surreal.
"Strange elven magic" he muttered under his breath. "Brought Aragorn back- ha!" he continued in a louder tone." And when he eventually returns, (if he does), do you think he will be overjoyed that you are spending your time doing your best to kill yourself in the most hilarious way one can imagine?"
The elf could not hold back a weak smile.
"I know what you are trying to do Gimli, but it is not going to work" he said. "And I will recover; remember we "strange elves" are sturdier than we look!" To prove his point he sat up, which he managed to do with a large amount of sheer will. He felt so dizzy his vision dimmed for a second. He slowly put aside a blanket, which he had been holding when he fainted, a blanket that had changed from a dull grey colour to a crimson red. At the sight of it the dwarf´s eyes widened.
"And just how long will it take until you not are going to do that anymore?" he asked again. And you are still not telling Aragorn?"
Gimli looked at his elven friend, his eyebrows wrinkled. Sometimes he was fascinated himself by his concern for this creature, the strangest one he had ever met- and an elf no less. That was one of the few good things about this whole quest, the unexpected friendships with persons he most likely never have met, given other circumstances.
"And how long before everything will change, Legolas?" he said again when the elf did not answer, desperate to make the archer understand. "If Aragorn returns, as you say he will, what will happen the day when you won´t recover anymore? When you wi..I mean, despite the fact that you are an elf, you can´t cope with everything. Elves can die, if not of old age, they still can..."
At those words Legolas stopped washing himself with the water from a bowl that Gimli had brought. He slowly raised his gaze and looked the dwarf straight in the eye.
"What about you, Gimli, what would you have done, have you been in my place? What would you have done given my choice? Being able to help the one that you cherish most in the world, even if it involved danger for yourself? What do you think Aragorn would have done?" his tone was pleading; revealing a small amount of the despair the elf was feeling.
The dwarf lowered his head, he knew that he was defeated, and had nothing more to say.
"I will leave you alone until you are finished" he said quietly.
Legolas let out a sigh after the dwarf had closed the door. However it was not from relief, instead the grip of anguish around his heart tightened and one single tear spilled down his cheek. He turned his face to the window in the room and let a gentle breeze sweep over him, the soft touch feeling almost like a lover´s caress.
"To love like this you should be happy, but love and despair are like the two sides of a hand" he whispered to himself, not sure where the words came from.
Just a couple of hours later, as Legolas had foretold, Aragorn arrived at Helms Deep, a bit battered and bruised, but alive nonetheless. He was deeply distressed , having seen the armies of Isengard on his way, their impressive number of Uruk-Hai, all ready to fight, as was the only purpose they had been bred in to the world.
On returning he was greeted by a delighted Gimli and somewhere in the back of his mind he wondered where Legolas was. Before he returned to consciousness he had seen images of Arwen, but it was thoughts of the blond elf alone that had given him the strength to get back. He had also felt that the archer had been there, somehow.
He saw him just before he was about to go into the main hall to talk to king Theoden. It made him stop dead in his tracks. The mere sight of the subject for his longing felt soothing.
"You´re late" Legolas said, with a hint of mischief in his voice, eyes shining. Then he continued:" You look terrible".
Then the ranger felt that something was pressed in to his palm. When he looked down and opened his hand he saw that it was the pendant of the Evenstar. It felt odd, strange; he had not even noticed that he had dropped it.
He looked at the elf again and put his hand on his shoulder, squeezing it lightly while he gathered all his strength of will to resist the urge to kiss the archer. Legolas apparently knew what he was thinking, his eyes sparkling and his smile fey. And, despite his urgent matters to the king the ranger sensed that something was different about his lover.
Nobody of them noticed that Eowyn watched them, the happiness in her face first showed on hearing Aragorn's voice changed to an expression of slight confuse. There was something about the man and the elf that she could not put her finger on, something passed between them that she did not quite understand. That they were close friends she had noticed at an early point, but now when they were standing there, to them nothing else seemed to exist than each other. Then when the moment was gone, Aragorn turned and left. The elf looked at her with a thoughtful glance before he also was gone.
As he went, Legolas reflected on the Lady´s gaze, she was wondering, he knew that, although he was certain the true nature of their relationship didn´t cross her mind. The elf also realized that her infatuation with Aragorn ran deeper than he had first suspected.
The prince of Mirkwood looked up in the sky, the sense of weariness would not leave, and war was hanging in the air. He suspected that this was going to be a very long night.
During the following hours everyone in Helm´s Deep prepared themselves for the forthcoming battle. That is, preparing the best way they could, considering their lack of both weapons and skilled warriors. Legolas felt more and more miserable, a sense that every effort was in vain. It was not like him at all, but the fear he saw in the eyes of the people of Rohan was nagging at him.
He told Aragorn , which only made things even worse, with the ranger declaring that he should die like one of them. Legolas intended to follow him, but was stopped by Gimli.
"You´re saying out loud what he thinks, and that makes him feel worse, especially because he feels about you the way he does" the dwarf said.
Legolas looked at him with a glint of surprise. "You are very wise sometimes, dwarf" he said.
"You elves are not the only ones that carries wisdom" Gimli replied with a smirk, but the elf could tell by the look on his face that the dwarf was proud of the comment. "Make peace with him when you can, I will not have you both killed just because of the stubbornness and foolish pride that you both posses in such a large amount".
"Forgive me. I was wrong to despair" Legolas said to Aragorn, when he had the chance.
"There is nothing to forgive" the man answered, with a relieved smile on his lips. He gently squeezed the elf´s shoulder and intended to kiss him when they were interrupted by a careful "hrumph" from Gimli who was trying a chain-mail.
"It´s a bit tight around the waist" he said.
(A while later)
"That is no orc-horn" Legolas said, amazed.
And it was not. From Lórien came Haldir with a great number of elven warriors. They were sent by Galadriel and Elrond to honour the alliance between elves and men. Their help was very welcomed.
"You still have a grip on her" Haldir told Legolas when they were on their way towards the walls.
The younger elf sighed.
"Do you always think in such terms? You have a one-track mind" he said." Galadriel has always cared for the world".
"That is true indeed, but she has always cared for you, as well. I wondered if she would have been so quick to send the best warriors of Lotlórien, had you not been involved."
"This is stupid, and you know it, Haldir" Legolas said, somewhat irritated. "Let´s not talk about his anymore."
The march-warden just nodded and took a closer look at the archer.
"Is there something amiss, lovely one? I can sense that something is wearing you down and despair is hovering in those pretty eyes. Why is that so? I understand it has something to do with the human you love, but he should not let you suffer so."
Legolas never answered him.
To everyone fighting in the battle it felt like a night without end. They fought for many hours, no respite in sight.
When Legolas had run out of arrows, he wielded his long-bladed knife, slaying orcs all around him, streams of tainted black blood washing over him. However, he barely noticed it, the only thing that existed was to fight, and to kill. He did not know for how long this battle had lasted, it could have been minutes; hours, days or years-it did not matter.
He let out a cry of despair when he saw Haldir fall before his inner sight. Aragorn was there. He had no time to dwell on it, though, as he soon was surrounded by uruk-hai once again.
A short time later they retreated inside the walls. There inside, was the first time Legolas truly saw that Aragorn was changing, becoming more regal when he asked Theoden to ride out with him.
It was a miracle. They had not only survived, they had even won the battle, Gandalf returning just in the right instant with Eomer and the rohirrim. The trees from Fangorn forest had also done their part, seeking revenge on the beasts that had slain so many of their relatives. Legolas was amazed; he had never thought he would see something like that.
He and Aragorn had not shared one single moment alone since Edoras. They had only muttered some encouraging words to each other during the fighting, secret words of love. Much to Legolas complete astonishment Aragorn had drawn him close and kissed him just before they had ridden out to meet their enemies, in that moment when everything seemed lost. The kiss had been swift, but hard, clearly showing the stunned viewers that it certainly not was a brotherly gesture between friends. Aragorn had tasted the copper of blood, but to the elf it was perhaps the sweetest kiss they had ever shared, proving the true courage of the man he loved. Now standing outside alone while the men, the wizard and the dwarf remained inside celebrating; he smiled while his thoughts dwelled on it. It lifted his spirits somewhat, his sorrow for Haldir and the other elves that had fallen during the battle laid like a tight rope around his heart.
Unbeknownst to the archer Aragorn moved around the banquet hall looking for him. The man felt weary of the company of the others, longing for some privacy with his elf. He also was tired of Eowyn´s insistent attention; it made him uncomfortable, but still he had not done anything about it.
"Where´s Legolas?" he asked Gimli, who was sitting at a table drinking beer and eating.
The dwarf snorted, but he spoke fondly:
"What do you think? He can´t stand being here and socializing, so he´s outside, staring at his beloved stars. I suppose they give better answers than we do...."
The human smiled.
"I can see you really like him. Anyway, thank you."
And he found him there, right outside as Gimli had told him, staring at the sky with a serene expression on his face. At first the ranger thought that the elf had not noticed him, but then he heard him say:
"Aragorn. Did you wish for fresh air?".
He was startled at the fey tone in the elf´s voice; he had thought that the sorrow was heavier on the archer, so heavy that he wasn´t in the mood for mockery.
He walked towards him.
"I was looking for you. I need you... and you...I think we need each other at a moment like this" he said, catching some strands of golden hair that was blowing in the wind and slowly stroked them, admiring the silken quality.
Legolas looked at him, eyes sparkling in the moonlight. Despite this Aragorn noticed that his lover was even paler than usual, but thought that it was as a result of the death of his friend.
"Yes, but we need each other too much, Aragorn and you know it," he said, stroking his cheek." It always comes down to this, but we do".
The man sighed.
"You chose such wonderful occasions to talk about this," he said ironically as he leaned into the elf´s touch." I don´t know whether it is true or not, but right now" a brief flicker of pain showed on the human´s face-"I just want to wipe out the remembrance of war from us both, just for a little while."
The elf looked at him thoughtfully. He had changed, indeed, even talking in a different way. Less of the ranger and more of the king showed in him.
"That is what we should do, then," Legolas said, feeling a short glimpse of anguish at the thought of the inevitable pain that came afterwards, but it was soon replaced by the rising desire.
They kissed slowly, pushing their tongues in each other´s mouths and wrapping them around each other.
"We will go to my room" Aragorn said when they parted for air-"since you are sharing yours."
He laid his arms around the elf´s shoulder as they hurried inside. They carefully avoided the banquet hall where the people, judged by the still ongoing singing and laughing, still were celebrating. Despite their efforts, near Aragorn´s room, they ran into Eowyn.
"There you are!" she said to the man with a quizzical look at Legolas, who still had the human´s arm wrapped around his shoulders.
"My lady" Aragorn said, clearly disturbed, as he reluctantly removed his arm.
"I noticed that you had left, all of a sudden "she answered matter of factly, "I just wanted to check that everything is well with you".
"I´m fine", he tried not to sound too irritated, even though that was exactly what he felt.
"I will go and get some water" Legolas said, taking a chance to be free from the slightly embarrassing situation.
"Some water?" Aragorn asked incredulously.
The elf did not answer; he was gone in the blink of an eye, leaving the man to deal with Eowyn by himself.
(A short time later)
"It´s kind of strange they don´t provide the doors with locks here" Aragorn said as he closed the door to his quarters, having finally managed to get away from Eowyn. He looked at the wonderful creature that was sitting on the narrow bed, stripped to the waist.
"I supposed it´s a matter of some kind of security" Legolas shrugged." I´m sure anyone will knock first" he added with a fey smile. Now, alone with Aragorn at last, everything felt fine.
"I suppose so" the man answered, looking at the elf with evident lust in his eyes. "Did you get your water?" he continued as he approached the bed.
"I never thought that I would have to say it, but sometimes you speak too much" the archer said, raising himself slightly and dragging the man down in the bed towards him.
Then they were all over each other, tearing their clothes off like they were in a hurry, all the time kissing eagerly, like they haven´t touched for years. Aragorn caressed the elf´s silken skin, but Legolas was the one that had gained the advantage.
"Please, Legolas, I need to feel you inside me" the man breathed.
"Yes, my beloved" he answered tenderly, taking some healing oil that Aragorn had left beside the bed earlier that day.
Afterwards they rested in each other´s arms, talking for a long time while they were gently stroking and caressing one another. At moments like this, everything seemed perfect, all traces of war and evil being washed away. Much to Legolas´ surprise the familiar pain and bleeding did not start until he had fallen asleep in Aragorn´s arms. As usual he was wakened by it.
Enwyn knew that was she was doing was highly inappropriate, but she could not stop wondering about the man she had fallen in love with and his relation to the beautiful male elf. There was more than met the eye, they appeared so close, almost like...but she could not finish that thought in her mind.
Slowly, as quiet and careful she could manage she gently pushed the door to Aragorn´s room open. In the pale moonlight she could discern the naked, sleeping form of the man, the sheets loosely wrapped around his waist, the whole bed in a complete mess. On the bedside the elf sat, holding a cloth against his face, before him on the small table a bowl of water. He was completely naked as well.
She was certain she had not made a sound, but the elf suddenly turned his head towards the door, removing the cloth. She did not how much he saw, but the look on his face bore a mark of...possession.
She backed away quickly and fled.
TBC....