Title: Despair and Hope

Chapter: "Be As a Rock for Him to Lean on"

"Are you …sure?" Legolas asked, a little incredulous of the tale he had just heard.

"I saw it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears, Legolas," Eowyn replied, running a hand down her face wearily. She was exhausted, for she hadn't had any sleep for a long time. Not since they had set out for Helm's Deep from Edoras.

She cradled the baby in her arms, singing to it softly.

" Child, the goddess of Sleep does call

You to the Realm of Dreams;

If you in obeying her wishes stall,

You'll cause her soul to weep.

So glide to that world of wonders

To where so many away,

And you shall be the first to emerge,

With the coming of the break of day…"

The child's eyes drifted close, and Eowyn heaved a sigh of relief, putting the baby down next to its fretfully sleeping mother.

Legolas eyed her, surprised by this new side of Eowyn. He had always thought of her as a female version of Aragorn and he could not understand this streak of mother in her. But of course, that was a presumption he was making for he did not know her very well, he realized. He knew Aragorn had shown traces of similar emotions within himself, on certain occasions. And it did not surprise him in the least.

"Did you make that up yourself?" he asked.

"Yes, in the course of the night, it was inevitable. We are all short of sleep after our long journey, but I can endure better than some. I ordered them all to try and rest and most seemed fairly happy to oblige. But the children are less easy to handle."

He looked at her closely, noticing the dark circles under her eyes. She looked tired out.

"Eowyn, you really should take some rest yourself," he told her.

"I should not. I don't think I even could. The war is intense, and ever crash or bang seems like a terrible happening to me."

Legolas smiled sadly. " I do not envy you. It must be terrible being the one who has to wait and wonder who you will be tomorrow, at the end of the battle, - a widow, an orphan, or a grief-stricken lover." He paused and lowered his voice. "I will not let you wait, Eowyn. I will give you news about Aragorn as soon as there is any news to give. Even…even if it is bad." 

"He needs you now, Legolas," Eowyn said earnestly. "You must not let him or anyone else know that you know the truth of what happened to him. You must be strong, and stand true, be ever hopeful before him, not shed a tear. Be as a rock for him to lean on. You alone can carry on this façade. I have faith in you."

"You shouldn't," he murmured.

He turned to leave, a bitter look on his face. She suddenly understood that look in a flash of insight. He thought it was his fault all this had happened.

"Legolas!" she cried out, wanting to put him at ease. He turned and gave her a questioning smile, but it didn't reach his eyes.

She wanted to assure him that it was in no way his fault, that he could not be blamed, that it was due to Saruman that all this was happening.

But she didn't. She couldn't. She could not find adequate words to.

"Good luck," she said instead, and watched his retreating back with regret.

~~*`~~

"Well, my friend, you are back," Aragorn said, as Legolas re-entered the room. "Did Eowyn tell you anything? Did she-"

"She is about as stubborn as you are…Estel," Legolas said, choosing his words carefully. He had never lied to his friend, and he wasn't about to start now. And he needed to remind Aragorn that he was hope. That it would and could never leave him.

Aragorn stirred, his eyes showing the grief he felt at being called "Estel." It wrenched Legolas's heart to see the pain he had inflicted. He almost wished he had not called his friend by the name of  "Estel." But as his resolution weakened, he remembered what Eowyn had said but minutes ago.

Be as a rock for him to lean on.

"Estel," he said again, "what should our course of action be, do you think? What about the orcs? I have no idea what they are up to, though I'll warrant it is in no way beneficial to us."

"Legolas, will you please not call me 'Estel?'" Aragorn asked, and the pain in his eyes made Legolas's heart weep.

"Why not?" he replied, and by some miracle he managed to keep his voice steady.

"I…well…oh, never mind, it doesn't matter." 

Legolas shifted his position slightly, so Aragorn could not see the two tears drop from his eyes onto his cheeks.

"What about the orcs…Estel?" Legolas swallowed a sob as he used the name again, but still he managed to keep his voice steady.

Be as a rock for him to lean on.

"Oh yes, I've been thinking," Aragorn began. "I have some kind of a plan. But it depends on, well, the caves."

"The caves? In which the women and children are now?" Legolas was surprised.

"Yes…in fact, why don't you call King Theoden, Haldir, and Gimli and let's discuss what's to be done."

"Alright…Estel."

Be as a rock for him to lean on.

The words kept repeating themselves to him as he stumbled out of the room.

I must be strong.

His heart beat faster, as he struggled to contain the tears that threatened to fall.

I cannot cry. That is what started all this  in the first place.

He leaned against a wall.

Why did I cry? How could I lose hope? How come I didn't realize something was wrong? I was in unnatural despair. If I had been strong then, he would not be weak now. If I had been strong then, none of this would have happened.

Be strong now, a voice in his head urged.

I will, he promised, and took a deep breath before he started off to find Haldir, Gimli and Theoden.

Even as he walked away the words kept repeating themselves in his mind, accompanied by Eowyn's face, earnest and sad.

Be as a rock for him to lean on.

~~*~~