Hello readers and reviewers! Enjoy the tenth chapter!
Legolas followed the familiar passage to his father's room. As he passed Arien's door however, it swung open to reveal the assassin towering above him, "Legolas, it's good to see you. I trust you enjoyed your breakfast," she said coolly.
He furrowed his brow up at her, "You know, just because Raven isn't here doesn't mean you can't speak to me like a friend, and I haven't eaten yet."
Arien smiled, "I'm just messing with you," she smiled, "So, why did you skip breakfast? I know for a fact you missed dinner. You're way too thin to be on a diet, you know," she laughed.
"No, I've just been busy," he looked down and sighed, but his friend didn't seem to notice.
"Well, you better get going. They'll be serving lunch soon," Arien advised, and Legolas nodded as he started down the hall, "By the way, have you seen Raven? I wanted to talk to her about. . . something," she smiled slyly, not giving away her recent developments with Darin.
"Let me guess, he's asked you to next month's ball?" he smirked, already knowing the answer.
Arien looked taken aback, "Yes, how do you know?"
"He stopped by for a visit this morning. The last time I saw Raven was when she, " he paused for a moment, " came by my room, but that was a while ago," he continued for his father's room.
"Thanks! If you see her, tell her to meet me in the garden!"
The Prince waved a hand and smiled the affirmative as he neared the guarded door. The soldiers bowed in recognition and let him pass through.
Legolas glanced around Thranduil's room and spotted the elf outside on the balcony, "Father, I must speak with you," he called out to him as he went to join him in the open air.
"What is it, son?" The King asked pleasantly surprised.
For a moment the Prince stammered, not knowing what to say. All he knew was that he needed to talk about what had happened earlier with Raven, but he didn't know how or where to start.
"Go on, is something troubling you?" Thranduil placed his hands on his son's shoulders.
Legolas looked up into his father's eyes and nodded with a distressed expression written on his face.
Thranduil creased his brow, "What is it?"
Legolas swallowed, "It's Raven-"
His father cut him off instantly, "Is she alright? What happened?" he shook his son's shoulders.
"Yes, she's fine, but, I, I've done something despicable," he looked down again.
"What happened?"
"I, I tried to, to TAKE her, father! But, before I'd gone too far though, something about her eyes stopped me. She was terrified of me. . . I wanted to stop, but I couldn't. I had lost control of myself. . . it was like a burning desire tearing at my soul. . . I've betrayed her love, how could I do such a thing? But, somehow she still loves me. I can't understand why. I don't deserve her. She's so pure, and I nearly took it from her without a word. We've known each other for less than four months, and I've almost destroyed what I love so much about her. What can I do?" he pleaded.
Thranduil's eyes saw somewhere where Legolas's could not, "Do you love her?" Legolas opened his mouth to speak, but his father wasn't finished, "Not just any kind of love, I mean TRUE. Ask yourself; what is it, infatuation, or love?"
"I think I do, but, if I did, how could I have done such a thing?" the Prince said despairingly.
"Don't think. Do you or do you not love this girl?"
Legolas sighed breathily and thought of emerald eyes. The corners of his mouth turned upwards in a smile at the thought of her sweet lips, begging to be kissed, "Aye."
Thranduil smiled, "Thought so."
But the warrior wasn't done yet, "Then why-"
The King stopped him with a wave of his hand, "Because you've never been in love before."
Legolas looked confused, "What does that have to do with it?"
"Simple, you couldn't handle the desire, but that is nothing to be ashamed of, because your love is pure."
His son was still confused, "How do you know?"
"Because if it wasn't, you wouldn't be here. You'd be in your bed with Raven weeping beneath you as you broke her," The bottom of Legolas's stomach dropped as he pictured the scene in his mind. He tried desperately to rid the image of what would have become of Raven's eyes: dull and empty. He shivered as his father carried on, "The fact that you stopped proves that your love for her is true, for only that could have created the bond strong enough to stop you.
Legolas smiled grimly and nodded in understanding, a new hope burning in his chest, while he watched his father walk over to his desk and open a drawer. Thranduil began pulling things out as he scanned the desk's contents. The Prince came to his father's side, "What are you looking for, adar?"
"Aha!" the King cried victoriously as he pulled a small cloth bag from the drawer, "I think you will have a use for this soon enough," he pulled a ring from the bag and placed it in his son's hand, "Your mother wanted the one you fell in love with to wear this."
Legolas gazed at the mithril band. He had seen it before; his mother's long slender finger had carried it before she died. Although he had seen it thousands of times on her hand, he never paid any attention to its beauty. It bore a single white gem surrounded by intricate ivy vines that continued their twisting growth both outside and in the band. As he followed with his eyes them, he saw tiny elvish markings on the inside of the ring. He squinted to read them, but his father recited them for him, "It reads 'Nothing shall hinder our undying love'," he eyed his son for his reaction.
Legolas opened his mouth but closed it again to choose his words, "Adar, this is-"
"A wedding ring," he finished for Legolas, "for when you are ready," he smiled and embraced his son, "You may go." The king sighed peacefully when his son left, 'Eyrn Lasgaelen will have a queen again.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The warrior had no words; he was in minor shock as he left his father's room and entered his own. As he sat down on his bed, he pulled out his mother's ring and watched it in silent interest. Though the room was dully lit, the gem shimmered like a star, "Nothing shall hinder our undying love. . ."
The Prince laid his head down on the pillow and smelt the familiar scents of honeysuckle, lilac, and jasmine. Though they were totally different from one another, he could never distinguish which one Raven was wearing: probably a clever mixture of the three. Raven. He sat bolt upright. Raven. He looked at the ring in his palm and smiled. It would fit her slender finger perfectly. He strode over to his desk, placed the ring in his drawer, and moved for the door.
When his fingers were three feet from the door handle, he heard a light 'knock' from the other side. He pulled the door open and was greeted with Raven's timid smile, "Hello, I um, brought you some breakfast in case you missed it," she announced and held up a golden apple.
"Thank you," he said, remembering how hungry he was and took the fruit from her hand. As if it had somehow zapped his memory, he swallowed the first bite and gave Raven Arien's message, "Arien wanted me to send you to the gardens to meet her. She has something important to tell you."
"Oh, thank you," she said softly, daring to meet his eyes, "will I see you later then?"
Legolas nodded, "Aye, I will come for you at dusk."
"Alright," Raven carefully placed her arms around his neck, stood on her tip-toes, and gently kissed the peak of his cheekbone, "I love you," she rested back to the balls of her feet.
Legolas smiled softly, "I know," he watched her walk away from him and disappear around the corner, and his heart sank.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Raven was far too proud to shed tears as she rounded the corner, but she felt like it. He was angry with her for not letting him- the thought made her shiver. No, he wasn't; he loved her. He wouldn't be angry with her for something as stupid as that. He would meet her later, and everything would right itself then. Besides, he told her he loved her earlier, and an eternity couldn't change that, let alone two hours.
She passed through the gates and shot nervous looks at the guards, but quickly sighed with relief: no Roain. She wandered down one of the numerous paths until she came to a willow tree with branches that reached the ground, creating a curtain affect. She passed through and was greeted with Arien's friendly grin, "That took you long enough! I've gotta tell you about Darin!"
Raven smiled, "What is it?"
"He asked me to go to next month's ball with him, can you believe it? When he asked me, I acted all cool and composed, but I had a hell of a time not laughing at the butterflies in my stomach!" her friend sighed in content as she rested her back against the wide trunk.
The elf smirked, "You look a lot different with googlie eyes."
Arien looked up, "Ya, well know you know how I feel when you think about Legolas."
Raven nodded, "True."
"So where were you today?"
"I was hanging out in the library mostly. I stopped by the kitchens to pick up something to eat, but I wasn't really hungry."
Arien nodded, "Well, how's Legolas. I saw him earlier. He seemed a little, off."
"How so?" Raven knew why.
"I dunno, he was just a little quiet, like he'd done something wrong. We didn't have a very long talk. He said he needed to speak with Thranduil for some anonymous reason. Any ideas?"
"Nope," she lied.
Arien sighed, "Maybe he was just tired or something," she shrugged, "I'm not gonna cry about it."
Raven creased her brow and smiled, "He'll get over it. Anyway, I'm going back to my room. Legolas said he was going to meet later, and I don't want to be late."
"All right, seeya," she waved to her friend as she walked back to the palace.
The next few hours before sundown passed uneventfully as Raven slipped into a silver gown. She loved the feeling of the fabric on her skin; it was almost like a liquid clinging to her body. Raven wasn't quite tall enough for the dress, so the last few inches trailed on the floor behind her as she walked. What she loved about it the most was the sleeves; open at the shoulders but reconnected at her elbow, reopened a few inches passed her wrists (again, she was too small for the design), and ended at her knees. She smiled at her reflection just as a sharp knocking came from the door. Her stomach somersaulted as she opened it, revealing Legolas in his royal blue robes.
Her smile quickly faded, however, as he continued to stare at her with his mouth slightly open, "Yea, I know. It's a little big. I think it'll still work, don't you?" her grin returned.
Legolas nodded his head, "Uh huh," without closing his mouth.
Raven put a finger under his chin, "I thought so, too," she pushed his jaw upwards, "Where are we going?"
The Prince blinked back to focus and forced himself to peel his eyes from Raven. 'Praise be to the Valar; she's so beautiful. . .' "I'll show you," he grinned and locked arms with the other elf.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kasseendra's blood boiled when she saw Legolas lead Raven into the dining hall. This had gone WAY too far; she needed to take action, but what? Her mind thought frantically as her eyes landed on a tray of wine-filled glasses to the Prince's left. She grinned and fingered a tiny capsule in her pocket as the scheme fell into place. She coolly walked passed the seated elves and dropped the pill in one of the glasses. Her grin widened; vengeance was sweet.
Her eyes sparkled devilishly when Legolas's hand reached for the tray and selected the tainted wine, letting the poisoned liquid roll down his throat, "Would you like a drink?" he asked Raven.
"Ew, I think I'll pass. I hate the taste of wine," she said as she wrinkled up her nose in distaste. She found alcohol of any kind to be terribly bitter, although she'd never had the chance to truly drink it; she was underage.
Legolas looked surprised, "Well, obviously you have never tried the fine wine from Eyrn Lasgaelen! Here, just a taste and tell me you think," the Prince passed her a fresh glass, which Raven reluctantly put to her lips. He smirked as her eyes lit up in shocked surprised. It wasn't bitter to say the least, although it had a sort of fruity tang, but the main thing she noticed was the bubbles that snapped on her tongue, like it was carbonated.
She quickly took another sip, "Wow, I like it!"
"Told you so," the warrior raised an eyebrow.
Raven stuck her tongue out.
Legolas laughed in surprise at her childish action and took her arm, "Come, let's go somewhere private," he led her out of the hall and headed for the gardens, unaware of the elf following them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sun had almost disappeared behind the mountains when the two elves rested beneath a shade tree. The Prince sat with his back propped up with the trunk of the willow, while his love took the liberty of lying on the ground.
The two remained quiet, and a slight bit of tension hung in the air, "Raven," Legolas broke the silence.
"Yes?"
He met her eyes, "I cannot tell you how sorry I am for putting you in that situation earlier, but I can promise this; I will never force you to do something you are not ready for, because I love you."
"Legolas. . ." she breathed, "kiss me," she closed her eyes.
The Prince blinked for a second before bending over Raven's form. To support himself, he cupped his hands over her wrists, rested his chest on her's, and then lowered his lips to her soft supple ones. The woman tilted her chin downwards slightly to break the gentle kiss, "I love you, too," she whispered. Legolas smiled and lowered his lips to hers once more, but before they could meet, Arien's voice sounded from the paths, "Raven? Hey, Raven? Where'd you go? Raven, hello?"
The Prince stopped and sighed in annoyance, receiving a giggle from the other elf, "You should go. I'll wait here," he pulled her up lightly, and she smoothly caught his lips in a final kiss as he did so.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kasseendra watched Raven step out from the curtain the willow branches created. Once she had disappeared in search of her friend, the other made her move and walked coolly under the tree, knowing that the capsule in the Prince's wine must have taken hold by then, "Hello, Legolas."
The warrior stared at her in irritated surprise, "Kasseendra, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, just taking a walk," she sat next to him, "Are you here alone?" her voice was changing; it was getting softer. . .
"As a matter of fact, I'm not. Raven will be back any moment," he looked away.
"No," Kasseendra breathed in Raven's voice, "she's here now."
Legolas looked back, "Raven? Where did Kass-"
The enchantress cut him off, "Don't worry about her, I'm here. That's all that matters."
The warrior smiled groggily, "I love you," his very eyes betrayed him as Kasseendra-Raven wrapped her arms around his neck and lowered him to the ground.
"Show me."
Legolas drove his lips onto hers in a fierce kiss, unaware of the fingers undoing the clasps to his tunic and robes. A warning buzzed in the back of him mind whispering of something that was terribly wrong.
The woman beneath him finally succeeded in exposing the elf's chest and began working on her own; the pill would ware off soon.
Legolas's thoughts were screaming insanely at him. Something about her lips weren't right; they weren't sweet, and the light in her eyes wasn't there. Then he noticed the smell of roses. . . Kasseendra wore roses; Raven wore a strange perfume. This wasn't Raven.
"NO!" he screamed in horror as the woman he loved melted into Kasseendra.
She moaned in false ecstasy, "Oh, don't stop Legolas! Raven, go away, can't you see where busy?"
The true Raven stood just inside the curtain with wide-eyes and an open mouth. The Prince could see the disbelief in her eyes as she slowly shook her head in horror. She took a step back, tears barely clinging to her lashes. He crawled off the groaning woman beneath him, "Please, you must believe me, it's not what you think, let me explain," his eyes watered, but it was no use.
The woman turned and fled, not knowing where to. When she walked in on Legolas pleasuring Kasseendra, it felt as if the planet had snapped in two. Her heart had stopped; he had betrayed her. He was just like everyone else. He never loved her. It had all been a lie. The only person who had ever loved her was Jason, but he was dead. SHE killed him. The same night that SHE gave her daughter a reason to wear elbow-length gloves. That was the night she swore never to love, but no. Legolas broke her resistance, only to torment her. She was alone again. As she thought those words, it felt as if her lungs had ignited into raging flames. The pain and emotions were so agonizing she couldn't stop herself from screaming an anguished cry as tears fell freely from her eyes.
She could hear Legolas calling her name a fair distance behind her as she raced from the garden and into the forest gloom, but she refused to listen to him. She tried to exile all thoughts from her mind, but the image and sound of Kasseendra moaning was burned in her head.
After what seemed hours of running, the searing pain in Raven's chest finally became unbearable; she couldn't stand it any longer. 'So this is what it's like to die of a broken heart. . .' She felt dizzy and her tears blinded her eyes, but she kept running just for the sake of it, though it wouldn't last much longer.
She was lost in the twisting shadows of the trees and the creeping fog that choked her, but it was mostly the darkness that had awakened in her soul that mislaid her path. Nightmares of memories flashed before her eyes, summoning a shriek that rivaled that of the Nazgul.
At first, she couldn't feel it as it pierced her flesh. Only when she saw the arrow shaft protruding from the area just above her left breast did she realize the pain; more of a sickening stinging feeling than getting stabbed with a knife. She put her hand to her wound and pulled it away, red with blood
"Yes, this is dieing," a voice whispered from the gloom as the elf closed her eyes and collapsed on the forest floor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Legolas chased desperately after Raven, abandoning Kasseendra to cackle manically in private. He called after her in horror when he caught a fleeting glimpse of her shoot off into the trees. She didn't know the dangers in those woods, nor why only the most skilled of elves dare to stray from the paths.
The warrior tore after her, unafraid. She was in there because of him, because of what HE had done, or perhaps what he had not. Either way, he needed to get her out of there, for spiders and the surviving orcs and Uruk- hai didn't care if you were lost or not.
Just as the thought of Raven's death plagued his mind, the most blood curtailing sound he had ever known reached him. He fell to his knees and smashed his hands against his ears, which he thought were going to start bleeding. The scream had such anguish in it, he felt his heart would burst; it was Raven's voice.
Legolas forced himself to race faster when the noise finally died down. She was close, but still in grave danger if he couldn't reach her in time. The warrior broke into a clearing and nearly tripped over Raven's body but managed to twist his foot to avoid doing so, "Raven! Please just let me explai-" the Prince choked on his words when his eyes registered the arrow sticking out of her chest.
"Please don't be dead!" tears gushed in rivers down his face as he ran over to examine her wound and sighed in relief when he saw the slight rise and fall of her chest. The elf knew he couldn't take the bolt out; she would bleed to death before they reached the palace. He broke the shaft about two inches from her chest, scooped her up in his arms, and ran; he was NOT going to let her die, "Please. . ." he begged allowed to any force or god that would listen, "let her live," fresh tears rolled down his proud cheekbones and splashed onto her face. He looked down and noticed for the first time the crimson streaks that led from the corners of her eyes down to the sides of her temples. His heart stopped. She was crying tears of blood; the arrow-tip had been poisoned, "Please. . ."
"Now what 'ave we's 'ere?" a familiarly harsh voice rang out from behind Legolas, causing his heart to stop (again) and all the color to leave his face.
'Not now. . .'
"Now, don't ye's know never to step off yer paths? We's show ye's why," the spider stepped out from the darkness, "Ands ye's 'ave a friends with ye's. She doesn't looks so goods, buts she's looks tastey's. We's don't thinks she's going to makes its outs alive."
Legolas clutched her tightly to his chest defensively, "Touch her and die," he hissed through clenched teeth.
"We's sees about that's!" it charged the elf and with the force of a warg, knocked him to the ground, sending the unconscious Raven sliding out of his arms. The beast paid no mind to the cursing fighting elf beneath him and dove for an easier prey. The spider cackled in its high-scratchy voice and lowered its fangs to the woman's chest, causing a fierce battle cry to burst from the warrior's lungs. He wouldn't let it end like this. His mother had fallen victim to these monsters, and he wasn't going to loose another he loved to them. It didn't matter now if she didn't love him; all that was important was her life dangling from a delicate tread.
His hand flew into his robes and drew his dagger, ready to strike. The spider's hysterical laughter continued and stalled its fangs from getting any closer to Raven so that it could look up into Legolas's face. Its screech ended abruptly when its gaze was met with nothing but air, "Where'd 'e go? Ha, ye's left ye's friendses to dies!" it reared back on its legs triumphantly, "Now we's eats!"
"Think again," the Prince flew down from his perch on a branch onto the spider, driving his blade into its back. Black blood poured from the hideous wound as the creature shrieked in anguish and charged back into the darkness from which it had come.
Legolas hastily gathered Raven in his arms again and ran as fast as his elven legs could muster. He had wasted far too much time already. The evil thoughts of panic flowed through the elf's mind; he tightened his hold and adrenalin pushed him even faster.
About an hour and a half from when they entered, the Prince broke through the trees and raced into the elven city. He dashed down the center of the roads while drops of Raven's blood stained the stones beneath his feet.
He was almost to the entrance of his palace when he heard Arien's shriek, "What the HELL happened?" she demanded in near hysterics, running along side Legolas through the doors.
"She's been shot, Arien. What does it look like?" he snapped but continued in greater detail, "She ran into the forest; I went after her and found her like this,"
"Why was she in the woods?" she had a knack to ask questions that were the most uncomfortable and difficult to answer, even if they seemed perfectly sensible things to ask.
The elf sighed in half frustration and half anxiety, "There's no time for that now, I'll explain everything later," he finished, turned the corner, and leapt up the stares.
Arien was close on his heals, "Who could have done this? Orcs?" her voice was only a little higher than usual, but it trembled with hate and tears.
"I don't know, but when I find them, I'll-," his sentence was cut off as he kicked open the door to Raven's only hope, "Hello? I need help, now!"
The head healer coolly stepped out from behind another door, but he quickly lost his calm disposition when he saw the condition of the elf before him, "How long ago did this happen?" he asked urgently and motioned to take her from his arms.
Legolas moved out of his reach and placed her gently on one of the narrow beds, "At least an hour ago, I'm not sure-"
The healer cut him off, "Why did you wait so long?" he demanded.
"I came as fast as I could, but a spider-"
"Oh, never mind there's no time," he turned his head and called over his shoulder, "Yavina, Shintara, get in here now!"
Two brunette elves rushed into the room and the younger of the twins gasped at her patient, "Lady Raven's tears, they're blood!" Shintara squeaked.
Yavina on the other hand, was far calmer, "Please, Prince Legolas, Lady Arien, wait outside," she opened the door and pushed them toward the exit.
"No, let me stay with her!" Legolas cried, but he was already in the hall with the locked door to his back, "LET ME IN!" he screamed and slammed his fist on the door to receive no response. Tears poured down his cheeks as he threw himself into a chair, put his face in his hands, and wept, his breath coming in as sharp, trembling throbs; his fault, it was all his fault. She was dieing, and it was his fault.
Arien walked over to her friend's side and lay a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Believe Legolas, she'll make it," though she doubted her words, she needed them to be the truth 'You had better you bitch.' "Believe," water gathered on her lashes, forming a drop that fell to floor, taking all her hope with it. She gasped against Legolas's sobs; she had cried her first tear.
Ou, ah, chapter ten. What did you think? You'd better tell me! Erm, I think I'm going to have to up the rating next chapter. . . Incase your wondering, no, it's not Legolas/Raven-ness. Sorry!
Peace
Legolas followed the familiar passage to his father's room. As he passed Arien's door however, it swung open to reveal the assassin towering above him, "Legolas, it's good to see you. I trust you enjoyed your breakfast," she said coolly.
He furrowed his brow up at her, "You know, just because Raven isn't here doesn't mean you can't speak to me like a friend, and I haven't eaten yet."
Arien smiled, "I'm just messing with you," she smiled, "So, why did you skip breakfast? I know for a fact you missed dinner. You're way too thin to be on a diet, you know," she laughed.
"No, I've just been busy," he looked down and sighed, but his friend didn't seem to notice.
"Well, you better get going. They'll be serving lunch soon," Arien advised, and Legolas nodded as he started down the hall, "By the way, have you seen Raven? I wanted to talk to her about. . . something," she smiled slyly, not giving away her recent developments with Darin.
"Let me guess, he's asked you to next month's ball?" he smirked, already knowing the answer.
Arien looked taken aback, "Yes, how do you know?"
"He stopped by for a visit this morning. The last time I saw Raven was when she, " he paused for a moment, " came by my room, but that was a while ago," he continued for his father's room.
"Thanks! If you see her, tell her to meet me in the garden!"
The Prince waved a hand and smiled the affirmative as he neared the guarded door. The soldiers bowed in recognition and let him pass through.
Legolas glanced around Thranduil's room and spotted the elf outside on the balcony, "Father, I must speak with you," he called out to him as he went to join him in the open air.
"What is it, son?" The King asked pleasantly surprised.
For a moment the Prince stammered, not knowing what to say. All he knew was that he needed to talk about what had happened earlier with Raven, but he didn't know how or where to start.
"Go on, is something troubling you?" Thranduil placed his hands on his son's shoulders.
Legolas looked up into his father's eyes and nodded with a distressed expression written on his face.
Thranduil creased his brow, "What is it?"
Legolas swallowed, "It's Raven-"
His father cut him off instantly, "Is she alright? What happened?" he shook his son's shoulders.
"Yes, she's fine, but, I, I've done something despicable," he looked down again.
"What happened?"
"I, I tried to, to TAKE her, father! But, before I'd gone too far though, something about her eyes stopped me. She was terrified of me. . . I wanted to stop, but I couldn't. I had lost control of myself. . . it was like a burning desire tearing at my soul. . . I've betrayed her love, how could I do such a thing? But, somehow she still loves me. I can't understand why. I don't deserve her. She's so pure, and I nearly took it from her without a word. We've known each other for less than four months, and I've almost destroyed what I love so much about her. What can I do?" he pleaded.
Thranduil's eyes saw somewhere where Legolas's could not, "Do you love her?" Legolas opened his mouth to speak, but his father wasn't finished, "Not just any kind of love, I mean TRUE. Ask yourself; what is it, infatuation, or love?"
"I think I do, but, if I did, how could I have done such a thing?" the Prince said despairingly.
"Don't think. Do you or do you not love this girl?"
Legolas sighed breathily and thought of emerald eyes. The corners of his mouth turned upwards in a smile at the thought of her sweet lips, begging to be kissed, "Aye."
Thranduil smiled, "Thought so."
But the warrior wasn't done yet, "Then why-"
The King stopped him with a wave of his hand, "Because you've never been in love before."
Legolas looked confused, "What does that have to do with it?"
"Simple, you couldn't handle the desire, but that is nothing to be ashamed of, because your love is pure."
His son was still confused, "How do you know?"
"Because if it wasn't, you wouldn't be here. You'd be in your bed with Raven weeping beneath you as you broke her," The bottom of Legolas's stomach dropped as he pictured the scene in his mind. He tried desperately to rid the image of what would have become of Raven's eyes: dull and empty. He shivered as his father carried on, "The fact that you stopped proves that your love for her is true, for only that could have created the bond strong enough to stop you.
Legolas smiled grimly and nodded in understanding, a new hope burning in his chest, while he watched his father walk over to his desk and open a drawer. Thranduil began pulling things out as he scanned the desk's contents. The Prince came to his father's side, "What are you looking for, adar?"
"Aha!" the King cried victoriously as he pulled a small cloth bag from the drawer, "I think you will have a use for this soon enough," he pulled a ring from the bag and placed it in his son's hand, "Your mother wanted the one you fell in love with to wear this."
Legolas gazed at the mithril band. He had seen it before; his mother's long slender finger had carried it before she died. Although he had seen it thousands of times on her hand, he never paid any attention to its beauty. It bore a single white gem surrounded by intricate ivy vines that continued their twisting growth both outside and in the band. As he followed with his eyes them, he saw tiny elvish markings on the inside of the ring. He squinted to read them, but his father recited them for him, "It reads 'Nothing shall hinder our undying love'," he eyed his son for his reaction.
Legolas opened his mouth but closed it again to choose his words, "Adar, this is-"
"A wedding ring," he finished for Legolas, "for when you are ready," he smiled and embraced his son, "You may go." The king sighed peacefully when his son left, 'Eyrn Lasgaelen will have a queen again.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The warrior had no words; he was in minor shock as he left his father's room and entered his own. As he sat down on his bed, he pulled out his mother's ring and watched it in silent interest. Though the room was dully lit, the gem shimmered like a star, "Nothing shall hinder our undying love. . ."
The Prince laid his head down on the pillow and smelt the familiar scents of honeysuckle, lilac, and jasmine. Though they were totally different from one another, he could never distinguish which one Raven was wearing: probably a clever mixture of the three. Raven. He sat bolt upright. Raven. He looked at the ring in his palm and smiled. It would fit her slender finger perfectly. He strode over to his desk, placed the ring in his drawer, and moved for the door.
When his fingers were three feet from the door handle, he heard a light 'knock' from the other side. He pulled the door open and was greeted with Raven's timid smile, "Hello, I um, brought you some breakfast in case you missed it," she announced and held up a golden apple.
"Thank you," he said, remembering how hungry he was and took the fruit from her hand. As if it had somehow zapped his memory, he swallowed the first bite and gave Raven Arien's message, "Arien wanted me to send you to the gardens to meet her. She has something important to tell you."
"Oh, thank you," she said softly, daring to meet his eyes, "will I see you later then?"
Legolas nodded, "Aye, I will come for you at dusk."
"Alright," Raven carefully placed her arms around his neck, stood on her tip-toes, and gently kissed the peak of his cheekbone, "I love you," she rested back to the balls of her feet.
Legolas smiled softly, "I know," he watched her walk away from him and disappear around the corner, and his heart sank.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Raven was far too proud to shed tears as she rounded the corner, but she felt like it. He was angry with her for not letting him- the thought made her shiver. No, he wasn't; he loved her. He wouldn't be angry with her for something as stupid as that. He would meet her later, and everything would right itself then. Besides, he told her he loved her earlier, and an eternity couldn't change that, let alone two hours.
She passed through the gates and shot nervous looks at the guards, but quickly sighed with relief: no Roain. She wandered down one of the numerous paths until she came to a willow tree with branches that reached the ground, creating a curtain affect. She passed through and was greeted with Arien's friendly grin, "That took you long enough! I've gotta tell you about Darin!"
Raven smiled, "What is it?"
"He asked me to go to next month's ball with him, can you believe it? When he asked me, I acted all cool and composed, but I had a hell of a time not laughing at the butterflies in my stomach!" her friend sighed in content as she rested her back against the wide trunk.
The elf smirked, "You look a lot different with googlie eyes."
Arien looked up, "Ya, well know you know how I feel when you think about Legolas."
Raven nodded, "True."
"So where were you today?"
"I was hanging out in the library mostly. I stopped by the kitchens to pick up something to eat, but I wasn't really hungry."
Arien nodded, "Well, how's Legolas. I saw him earlier. He seemed a little, off."
"How so?" Raven knew why.
"I dunno, he was just a little quiet, like he'd done something wrong. We didn't have a very long talk. He said he needed to speak with Thranduil for some anonymous reason. Any ideas?"
"Nope," she lied.
Arien sighed, "Maybe he was just tired or something," she shrugged, "I'm not gonna cry about it."
Raven creased her brow and smiled, "He'll get over it. Anyway, I'm going back to my room. Legolas said he was going to meet later, and I don't want to be late."
"All right, seeya," she waved to her friend as she walked back to the palace.
The next few hours before sundown passed uneventfully as Raven slipped into a silver gown. She loved the feeling of the fabric on her skin; it was almost like a liquid clinging to her body. Raven wasn't quite tall enough for the dress, so the last few inches trailed on the floor behind her as she walked. What she loved about it the most was the sleeves; open at the shoulders but reconnected at her elbow, reopened a few inches passed her wrists (again, she was too small for the design), and ended at her knees. She smiled at her reflection just as a sharp knocking came from the door. Her stomach somersaulted as she opened it, revealing Legolas in his royal blue robes.
Her smile quickly faded, however, as he continued to stare at her with his mouth slightly open, "Yea, I know. It's a little big. I think it'll still work, don't you?" her grin returned.
Legolas nodded his head, "Uh huh," without closing his mouth.
Raven put a finger under his chin, "I thought so, too," she pushed his jaw upwards, "Where are we going?"
The Prince blinked back to focus and forced himself to peel his eyes from Raven. 'Praise be to the Valar; she's so beautiful. . .' "I'll show you," he grinned and locked arms with the other elf.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kasseendra's blood boiled when she saw Legolas lead Raven into the dining hall. This had gone WAY too far; she needed to take action, but what? Her mind thought frantically as her eyes landed on a tray of wine-filled glasses to the Prince's left. She grinned and fingered a tiny capsule in her pocket as the scheme fell into place. She coolly walked passed the seated elves and dropped the pill in one of the glasses. Her grin widened; vengeance was sweet.
Her eyes sparkled devilishly when Legolas's hand reached for the tray and selected the tainted wine, letting the poisoned liquid roll down his throat, "Would you like a drink?" he asked Raven.
"Ew, I think I'll pass. I hate the taste of wine," she said as she wrinkled up her nose in distaste. She found alcohol of any kind to be terribly bitter, although she'd never had the chance to truly drink it; she was underage.
Legolas looked surprised, "Well, obviously you have never tried the fine wine from Eyrn Lasgaelen! Here, just a taste and tell me you think," the Prince passed her a fresh glass, which Raven reluctantly put to her lips. He smirked as her eyes lit up in shocked surprised. It wasn't bitter to say the least, although it had a sort of fruity tang, but the main thing she noticed was the bubbles that snapped on her tongue, like it was carbonated.
She quickly took another sip, "Wow, I like it!"
"Told you so," the warrior raised an eyebrow.
Raven stuck her tongue out.
Legolas laughed in surprise at her childish action and took her arm, "Come, let's go somewhere private," he led her out of the hall and headed for the gardens, unaware of the elf following them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sun had almost disappeared behind the mountains when the two elves rested beneath a shade tree. The Prince sat with his back propped up with the trunk of the willow, while his love took the liberty of lying on the ground.
The two remained quiet, and a slight bit of tension hung in the air, "Raven," Legolas broke the silence.
"Yes?"
He met her eyes, "I cannot tell you how sorry I am for putting you in that situation earlier, but I can promise this; I will never force you to do something you are not ready for, because I love you."
"Legolas. . ." she breathed, "kiss me," she closed her eyes.
The Prince blinked for a second before bending over Raven's form. To support himself, he cupped his hands over her wrists, rested his chest on her's, and then lowered his lips to her soft supple ones. The woman tilted her chin downwards slightly to break the gentle kiss, "I love you, too," she whispered. Legolas smiled and lowered his lips to hers once more, but before they could meet, Arien's voice sounded from the paths, "Raven? Hey, Raven? Where'd you go? Raven, hello?"
The Prince stopped and sighed in annoyance, receiving a giggle from the other elf, "You should go. I'll wait here," he pulled her up lightly, and she smoothly caught his lips in a final kiss as he did so.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kasseendra watched Raven step out from the curtain the willow branches created. Once she had disappeared in search of her friend, the other made her move and walked coolly under the tree, knowing that the capsule in the Prince's wine must have taken hold by then, "Hello, Legolas."
The warrior stared at her in irritated surprise, "Kasseendra, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, just taking a walk," she sat next to him, "Are you here alone?" her voice was changing; it was getting softer. . .
"As a matter of fact, I'm not. Raven will be back any moment," he looked away.
"No," Kasseendra breathed in Raven's voice, "she's here now."
Legolas looked back, "Raven? Where did Kass-"
The enchantress cut him off, "Don't worry about her, I'm here. That's all that matters."
The warrior smiled groggily, "I love you," his very eyes betrayed him as Kasseendra-Raven wrapped her arms around his neck and lowered him to the ground.
"Show me."
Legolas drove his lips onto hers in a fierce kiss, unaware of the fingers undoing the clasps to his tunic and robes. A warning buzzed in the back of him mind whispering of something that was terribly wrong.
The woman beneath him finally succeeded in exposing the elf's chest and began working on her own; the pill would ware off soon.
Legolas's thoughts were screaming insanely at him. Something about her lips weren't right; they weren't sweet, and the light in her eyes wasn't there. Then he noticed the smell of roses. . . Kasseendra wore roses; Raven wore a strange perfume. This wasn't Raven.
"NO!" he screamed in horror as the woman he loved melted into Kasseendra.
She moaned in false ecstasy, "Oh, don't stop Legolas! Raven, go away, can't you see where busy?"
The true Raven stood just inside the curtain with wide-eyes and an open mouth. The Prince could see the disbelief in her eyes as she slowly shook her head in horror. She took a step back, tears barely clinging to her lashes. He crawled off the groaning woman beneath him, "Please, you must believe me, it's not what you think, let me explain," his eyes watered, but it was no use.
The woman turned and fled, not knowing where to. When she walked in on Legolas pleasuring Kasseendra, it felt as if the planet had snapped in two. Her heart had stopped; he had betrayed her. He was just like everyone else. He never loved her. It had all been a lie. The only person who had ever loved her was Jason, but he was dead. SHE killed him. The same night that SHE gave her daughter a reason to wear elbow-length gloves. That was the night she swore never to love, but no. Legolas broke her resistance, only to torment her. She was alone again. As she thought those words, it felt as if her lungs had ignited into raging flames. The pain and emotions were so agonizing she couldn't stop herself from screaming an anguished cry as tears fell freely from her eyes.
She could hear Legolas calling her name a fair distance behind her as she raced from the garden and into the forest gloom, but she refused to listen to him. She tried to exile all thoughts from her mind, but the image and sound of Kasseendra moaning was burned in her head.
After what seemed hours of running, the searing pain in Raven's chest finally became unbearable; she couldn't stand it any longer. 'So this is what it's like to die of a broken heart. . .' She felt dizzy and her tears blinded her eyes, but she kept running just for the sake of it, though it wouldn't last much longer.
She was lost in the twisting shadows of the trees and the creeping fog that choked her, but it was mostly the darkness that had awakened in her soul that mislaid her path. Nightmares of memories flashed before her eyes, summoning a shriek that rivaled that of the Nazgul.
At first, she couldn't feel it as it pierced her flesh. Only when she saw the arrow shaft protruding from the area just above her left breast did she realize the pain; more of a sickening stinging feeling than getting stabbed with a knife. She put her hand to her wound and pulled it away, red with blood
"Yes, this is dieing," a voice whispered from the gloom as the elf closed her eyes and collapsed on the forest floor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Legolas chased desperately after Raven, abandoning Kasseendra to cackle manically in private. He called after her in horror when he caught a fleeting glimpse of her shoot off into the trees. She didn't know the dangers in those woods, nor why only the most skilled of elves dare to stray from the paths.
The warrior tore after her, unafraid. She was in there because of him, because of what HE had done, or perhaps what he had not. Either way, he needed to get her out of there, for spiders and the surviving orcs and Uruk- hai didn't care if you were lost or not.
Just as the thought of Raven's death plagued his mind, the most blood curtailing sound he had ever known reached him. He fell to his knees and smashed his hands against his ears, which he thought were going to start bleeding. The scream had such anguish in it, he felt his heart would burst; it was Raven's voice.
Legolas forced himself to race faster when the noise finally died down. She was close, but still in grave danger if he couldn't reach her in time. The warrior broke into a clearing and nearly tripped over Raven's body but managed to twist his foot to avoid doing so, "Raven! Please just let me explai-" the Prince choked on his words when his eyes registered the arrow sticking out of her chest.
"Please don't be dead!" tears gushed in rivers down his face as he ran over to examine her wound and sighed in relief when he saw the slight rise and fall of her chest. The elf knew he couldn't take the bolt out; she would bleed to death before they reached the palace. He broke the shaft about two inches from her chest, scooped her up in his arms, and ran; he was NOT going to let her die, "Please. . ." he begged allowed to any force or god that would listen, "let her live," fresh tears rolled down his proud cheekbones and splashed onto her face. He looked down and noticed for the first time the crimson streaks that led from the corners of her eyes down to the sides of her temples. His heart stopped. She was crying tears of blood; the arrow-tip had been poisoned, "Please. . ."
"Now what 'ave we's 'ere?" a familiarly harsh voice rang out from behind Legolas, causing his heart to stop (again) and all the color to leave his face.
'Not now. . .'
"Now, don't ye's know never to step off yer paths? We's show ye's why," the spider stepped out from the darkness, "Ands ye's 'ave a friends with ye's. She doesn't looks so goods, buts she's looks tastey's. We's don't thinks she's going to makes its outs alive."
Legolas clutched her tightly to his chest defensively, "Touch her and die," he hissed through clenched teeth.
"We's sees about that's!" it charged the elf and with the force of a warg, knocked him to the ground, sending the unconscious Raven sliding out of his arms. The beast paid no mind to the cursing fighting elf beneath him and dove for an easier prey. The spider cackled in its high-scratchy voice and lowered its fangs to the woman's chest, causing a fierce battle cry to burst from the warrior's lungs. He wouldn't let it end like this. His mother had fallen victim to these monsters, and he wasn't going to loose another he loved to them. It didn't matter now if she didn't love him; all that was important was her life dangling from a delicate tread.
His hand flew into his robes and drew his dagger, ready to strike. The spider's hysterical laughter continued and stalled its fangs from getting any closer to Raven so that it could look up into Legolas's face. Its screech ended abruptly when its gaze was met with nothing but air, "Where'd 'e go? Ha, ye's left ye's friendses to dies!" it reared back on its legs triumphantly, "Now we's eats!"
"Think again," the Prince flew down from his perch on a branch onto the spider, driving his blade into its back. Black blood poured from the hideous wound as the creature shrieked in anguish and charged back into the darkness from which it had come.
Legolas hastily gathered Raven in his arms again and ran as fast as his elven legs could muster. He had wasted far too much time already. The evil thoughts of panic flowed through the elf's mind; he tightened his hold and adrenalin pushed him even faster.
About an hour and a half from when they entered, the Prince broke through the trees and raced into the elven city. He dashed down the center of the roads while drops of Raven's blood stained the stones beneath his feet.
He was almost to the entrance of his palace when he heard Arien's shriek, "What the HELL happened?" she demanded in near hysterics, running along side Legolas through the doors.
"She's been shot, Arien. What does it look like?" he snapped but continued in greater detail, "She ran into the forest; I went after her and found her like this,"
"Why was she in the woods?" she had a knack to ask questions that were the most uncomfortable and difficult to answer, even if they seemed perfectly sensible things to ask.
The elf sighed in half frustration and half anxiety, "There's no time for that now, I'll explain everything later," he finished, turned the corner, and leapt up the stares.
Arien was close on his heals, "Who could have done this? Orcs?" her voice was only a little higher than usual, but it trembled with hate and tears.
"I don't know, but when I find them, I'll-," his sentence was cut off as he kicked open the door to Raven's only hope, "Hello? I need help, now!"
The head healer coolly stepped out from behind another door, but he quickly lost his calm disposition when he saw the condition of the elf before him, "How long ago did this happen?" he asked urgently and motioned to take her from his arms.
Legolas moved out of his reach and placed her gently on one of the narrow beds, "At least an hour ago, I'm not sure-"
The healer cut him off, "Why did you wait so long?" he demanded.
"I came as fast as I could, but a spider-"
"Oh, never mind there's no time," he turned his head and called over his shoulder, "Yavina, Shintara, get in here now!"
Two brunette elves rushed into the room and the younger of the twins gasped at her patient, "Lady Raven's tears, they're blood!" Shintara squeaked.
Yavina on the other hand, was far calmer, "Please, Prince Legolas, Lady Arien, wait outside," she opened the door and pushed them toward the exit.
"No, let me stay with her!" Legolas cried, but he was already in the hall with the locked door to his back, "LET ME IN!" he screamed and slammed his fist on the door to receive no response. Tears poured down his cheeks as he threw himself into a chair, put his face in his hands, and wept, his breath coming in as sharp, trembling throbs; his fault, it was all his fault. She was dieing, and it was his fault.
Arien walked over to her friend's side and lay a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Believe Legolas, she'll make it," though she doubted her words, she needed them to be the truth 'You had better you bitch.' "Believe," water gathered on her lashes, forming a drop that fell to floor, taking all her hope with it. She gasped against Legolas's sobs; she had cried her first tear.
Ou, ah, chapter ten. What did you think? You'd better tell me! Erm, I think I'm going to have to up the rating next chapter. . . Incase your wondering, no, it's not Legolas/Raven-ness. Sorry!
Peace