Sorry to keep all my faithful readers and reviewers waiting! I'm done with
my theater program for the next several months, so I'll be able to dedicate
much more time to writing. I hope you enjoy Chapter twelve.
DISCLAIMER: No matter how much I wish I did, I do not own any LOTR characters or places. They belong to JRR Tolkien . . . wait, if he is gone, whom do they belong to now?
Legolas sighed in disgust; he had been searching the forest for Roain and Kasseendra for the past two weeks with no luck.
"Legolas, we've been out here for weeks. You know I want to catch them as much as you do, but don't you think it's time we returned home? Besides, the spiders probably picked them off days ago . . . not to mention Arien's going to kill me for not letting her come," Darin rode up beside the Prince.
His friend half-smirked. They had left as soon as he had made sure Raven would be taken care of, and Darin thought it would be best if Arien stayed behind to make sure she'd be alright, "I suppose we could give it a rest," he turned to the other, "I do miss home," he turned Arod to face the group behind him, "Head east; we return home!" cheers erupted from the elves. They would follow their Prince to the end of the world, but they were anxious to leave the gloom of Mirkwood.
The elves turned their horses and galloped to the palace, and Legolas and Darin held up the rear, "Don't worry Legolas, he won't come back. Even if he does, we'll be there. He'll never harm her again."
The warrior looked at his companion, "I plead the Valar each night to keep her safe, but I'm afraid that one day when I'm not looking," he looked away and cut himself off, "I'd die."
Darin blinked, "You really love her, don't you."
Legolas reverted his vision," Aye."
His friend grinned, "I can tell. It's been what, six months since she came to us?"
"And five days."
Darin nodded, "I can't wait until we get back."
"Nor I, my friend, nor I," he sighed and ended the conversation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The party of elves on horses continued their trot for several hours until the fog and gloom of the forest engulfed the last of the sunlight that sneaked trough openings in the dense foliage. It would be at least another good day of riding before they would reach the palace, but despite the miserable scenery and journey ahead, spirits were high. The group set camp and assigned guard duty, which had become a nightly ritual over the past two weeks. Though it was Legolas's chance to catch a wink of sleep, he refused to do so, "Ardis, I cannot sleep, let me take over," the other elf nodded in thanks and promptly dropped off to dreams.
The Prince saw that the fire burned low. He stepped outside the ring of light to find the pile of wood Darin had stacked for such an occasion, but he couldn't find it. Confused, he wandered deeper into the forest to find the timber. After a few minutes of searching, Legolas turned around empty- handed; the firewood was not worth getting lost over, but it seemed he was too late. He looked around frantically; the camp was gone. He saw nothing but the darkness, "Darin? Ardis? Ilumien? The fire must have burned out! Where are you?" No answer, "Darin?" Silence. The warrior stood alone in the dark, refusing to show fear. He would stand there all night until the sun rose if he had to, but then he heard it. The clash of metal reached his leaf-shaped ears, immediately followed by a bone-chilling shriek that stopped the rhythmic beating of his heart; he knew that voice.
"RAVEN!" he shouted will all the force he could muster. How did she get so far from the palace? Something must have happened, and she must have left to find him! There were plenty of other elves to search for Roain; why did he leave her? He should have stayed by her side, "Raven?" he called again as he ran in the direction of her screams.
Not far off in the distance he heard another voice. It cackled victoriously and was soon accompanied by another of Raven's pained cries. Legolas's eyes filled with fear and hate, "Get away from her!"
The warrior-reborn burst through a clearing and couldn't help screaming in agony at what he saw; Roain's naked form was mounted atop Raven's body with his lips were pressed against her neck, but she did not protest. Roain raised his grinning face to look directly into the Prince's eyes, and Legolas was mortified by his appearance. Roain's orbs were the darkest shade of black he had ever seen, a kind of black one cannot describe and can only be seen to understand, with blood-red slits for pupils. Crimson streaks dripped from the corners of his mouth, and he knew it was Raven's blood. Legolas looked down into her orbs helplessly and felt as if a lightning bolt had crashed out of the heavens and struck him; her emerald eyes were blank and empty. She was dead. The Prince fell to his knees in shock, but frozen fingers wrapped themselves around his neck and lifted him to his feet. He looked down into Roain's now lidless eyes. The demon grinned up at Legolas, revealing three-inch-long white fangs, "You are too late. Now I shall show you what your love truly is!"
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"LEGOLAS!" Darin shook his friend awake, "Wake up!"
The Prince woke with a start, "What? Where's Roain? Her eyes, Raven's eyes, she's dead!" he cried.
"Legolas, you were dreaming. Raven's fine. You will see her today, and Roain's gone. It was nothing!" Darin held onto his Prince's shoulders as a small circle of elves gathered around the source of the uproar.
"Darin?" Legolas blinked the world into focus, "What happened?"
"You cried out in your sleep, and I woke you. We need to start riding if we are to reach the palace by sundown," he pulled his friend up.
"No," Legolas said as he hurriedly folded his blanket and stowed it on Arod's hide.
"No what?" Darin asked, mirroring the warrior's actions.
"We must return to the palace before the sun touches the mountains," he ordered and leapt to his stallion's back, "Something is wrong," he waited for the others to mount their horses before breaking into a gallop, "I can feel it."
"I don't understand!" Darin called to his friend as he squinted against the wind.
"Neither do I!" he shouted back but didn't slow his speed.
"We need to slow down! The horses cannot keep this speed up for long," Elra, Darin's mare, already showed signs of fatigue.
"Arod can," Legolas breathed as his companions steady grew smaller and smaller behind him, but he refused to slow down. The image of Raven's death was still fresh and vivid in his mind, tormenting him. He needed to hold her in his arms and be certain she was safe. He urged his horse faster, "I'm sorry Arod, but you mustn't slow down. We need to get home as swiftly as possible."
The stallion whinnied and shook his mane. He was far too proud to slow his pace for even a second.
Legolas smiled, "I knew I could count on you, old friend."
Through the trees, the elf watched the sun sink lower and lower in the sky until it turned red over the mountains. He felt his heart quicken; he could see one of the palace turrets rising above the forest, "Almost there Arod, almost there!" he rubbed his horse's neck encouragingly.
Minutes later, the gates of Legolas's home greeted him as he dismounted hurriedly and sent Arod the stables. The Prince rushed in through the garden entrance, up two flights of stairs, and down the hall. As he neared Raven's room, the door swung open, and Arien stepped through.
Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when they spotted the elf- prince sprinting toward her," Gyah!" she yelped and jumped out of the way, causing him the discomfort of smacking into the door, "In the name of the Valar what ARE you doing?"
"I must see Raven," he answered quickly and tried to peer over the unusually tall woman's shoulder.
She sighed in exasperation, "You'll never find her in there. You took her down to the infirmary. Injuries like hers don't disappear in a few days," she sucked in breath and wanted to finish off by saying 'What the hell were you thinking when you left two weeks ago? She needed you to be with her,' but she saw the angst and regret in his eyes and decided to hold her sharp tongue, "Did you find them? Where is Darin?" she asked as she led him to Raven.
"No, we never found a trace of either of them, and Darin and the others are still on the way back."
"How did you get here so quickly?" Arien furrowed her eyebrows.
"Arod and I raced for hours to get here as fast as we could."
"Why?" she shook her head.
"I needed to see Raven."
"Yes, we have established this. Why do you need to see Raven so badly?"
"I saw her death in a dream last night, and I needed to know she was alright," he quickened his pace.
Arien nodded, "I wouldn't tell her that if I were you. She claims to be perfectly fine, but we both know that's her pride talking."
Legolas snort-laughed.
"That wasn't meant to be humorous," she eyed him irritably, "The point is her injuries, mentally and physically, were much worse that what they seemed."
"What do you mean?" he stared into her eyes and froze.
"Legolas, Roain nearly beat her to death. If he had succeeded in raping her, that wouldn't have mattered though; the mental strain would have broken her mind. She would have died," she said solemnly.
Though he already knew this, the Prince winced at her words; it disturbed him to hear the prediction aloud, "She WILL recover, won't she?"
"Yes, of course, she's too stubborn not to, but no one, I doubt even she, can tell just how deeply the trauma has effected her.
The elf nodded grimly as they neared the door to her temporary room.
"Legolas," she stopped him with the sudden urgency of her voice, "something happened to her before she came to us. She won't tell me what, but I can sense she's locked a memory in her mind that was less than pleasant. After the incidents with Kasseendra and Roain, I'm not sure how much more she can take. Whatever happens from here, it's up to you to protect her. Everyone, even elves with constitutions as strong as Raven's, has a breaking point.
Legolas placed his hand on the knob, "I know," he stepped through the door.
His elven eyes quickly adjusted to the light, showing him the silhouette of a sleeping she-elf, "Raven?" he asked softly and kneeled down by her side.
The captor of his heart stirred, "Legolas?" she awoke suddenly and sat bold- upright. The force of gravity caused her sheets to fall away from her torso, revealing bandages that came from her underarms to the base of her ribcage. She saw the pain in his eyes as they ran up and down her body, taking in every cut, bruise, and bandage, "I've missed you," she blushed slightly and her eyes glazed.
"And I you, melamin," he pressed his lips to hers.
She pulled her head back in her pillow, but Legolas lips remained hovering a few centimeters above her skin, "Did you find him?"
The Prince caught his breath for a second, "No," he could see the fear in her eyes and the goose bumps begin to form on the portion of her arms that were not hidden by her gloves, "But do not worry, I will not let him harm you ever again."
Raven nodded, "Are the others back yet?" she breathed.
"No, I took a much faster pace than they did because I needed to see you," he blinked the memory of his dream out of his mind.
"Why?" she closed her eyes.
"Because I love you."
"Really?"
Legolas lowered his mouth in another kiss and caressed her cheek with his thumb, "Yes," he spoke from the corner of his mouth.
Raven smiled against his lips and wrapped her arms around his neck, but he placed his around her bare waist. She pulled him down next to her on the small bed and snuggled up against him, "I'm so glad you've come back," she looked up at him with her emerald eyes, "Promise you won't leave me again?"
Legolas smiled down at the woman he loved and glanced at the wounds that occurred during his absence two weeks ago, "Yes," he placed a loving kiss on her creamy lips.
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Legolas woke in Raven's arm to a light knocking from the other side of the door. He quickly answered it to keep from waking the sleeping she-elf, "Darin! You made it back alright!" he whispered.
His friend nodded, "We got here well after sundown, but then again, our horses don't have the blood of the Mearas flowing in their veins."
"What did you need me for?" the Prince jumped right to the point; he wanted to get back to the warmth of Raven's arms.
"It's not I who needs you, but your father."
Legolas furrowed his eyebrows, "What does he want?"
"I'm not certain, but he seemed upset. Besides, I doubt you greeted him when you arrived last night," he said smugly.
The tips of his friend's ears turned pink, "I had forgotten; Raven was all I thought about."
Darin smirked, "Let's go. Your father is waiting."
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Legolas bid his companion farewell and stepped into the King's room, "Father? You wished to see me?"
"Ah, Legolas, why did you not come to me when you returned yesterday?" he knew what had kept him of course, but he took pleasure in hearing it from his son's voice.
"I'm sorry Father, but the Lady Raven ruled my thoughts yester eve," the faintest blush lit his cheekbones, "What was it that you wished to tell me?"
The warmth was quickly drawn from his father's face, "An emissary of Minas Tirith came to the palace three days ago. He brought tidings from the King and was sent to speak with you, but since you were absent, I agreed to relay the message to you. There is no easy way for me to tell you this, so I shall go straight to the point. Legolas, Estel, Aragorn, is not well. His Numenorian blood preserved his youth for thrice that of any normal man, but mortality has finally caught up with him. I am sorry my son, but he is dying," he placed a supporting hand on Legolas's shoulder.
Thranduil's words hit the Prince like a pile of bricks to the face; the man he saw as a friend, brother, leader, and even grown to love was leaving this world. Such was the bitterness of mortality, "I must go to him at once."
"I knew you would say such a thing. I ordered Arod fed with our finest oats early this morning and had him saddled. Darin and Arien will be riding with you I presume?"
"If you can spare them for a few weeks," it was not shame for asking that kept the Prince from meeting his eyes.
"Of course. Hurry and get them ready. I shall see to your horses and provisions," he dismissed his son with a wave of his hand.
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Legolas entered Raven's temporary room and found her sitting up and in conversation with Darin and Arien. She smiled at him as he came near, but her happiness was quickly replaced with concern at the shocked expression on his face, "What's wrong Legolas?"
He looked up at the three elves, "Aragorn lies dying in Minas Tirith," he said in disbelief.
Arien's mouth hung slightly open, Raven's face paled, and Darin swallowed heavily, "I'm coming with you."
Legolas smiled grimly, "You know me well. I have not even told you I was going."
"Me too," Arien stated firmly.
"And me," Raven offered with sympathetic eyes.
The Prince's eyes widened slightly, "No. You are not yet strong enough to ride such a distance. You must stay here, melamin, where you can rest," he said earnestly.
Raven's eye twitched, "What did you say? In case you've forgotten, you PROMISED never to leave me again."
Legolas's expression quickly changed from that of sorrow to self-scorn, "No, I haven't forgotten, it's just that you are not yet well enough for such a long journey."
"Like hell I'm not!" Raven fumed, "You only just got back, and now you want to break your PROMISE and abandon me! I'm smart enough to know that a trip to Gondor is going to take much longer than two weeks; two MONTHS would be pushing it!
The warrior sighed in defeat and mentally scolded himself; he could single handedly take on a small army of Uruk-hai and live to tell about it, but couldn't control one wounded she-elf, "You win."
Raven's face lit up in a brilliant smile, "I knew you'd see it my way!" keeping as straight a face as possible, she pulled herself out of bed.
'Besides,' she concluded in her mind, 'he needs me just as much as I need him.'
Despite Raven's efforts to hide it, Arien saw the pain of her wounds shoot through her friend's eyes. Legolas was right; it was very unwise for Raven to accompany them in her condition, but it could not be avoided, "Raven, I don't think it's a good idea for you to come with us, but seeing as how you are as stubborn as an ass-"
"Thank you," she interjected cheerfully.
"- you're going to come anyway," she eyed Raven in irritation, "Regardless, I cannot allow you to ride your own horse; you do NOT have the strength," she looked directly into Legolas's blue orbs before continuing, "You will have to ride with one of us."
"No problem," the green-eyed elf shrugged.
The Prince swallowed. He'd be spending the next several weeks with Raven behind him, arms wrapped around his waist, or worse, she could sit in front of him . . .
"Hurry everyone, we must get ready," Darin chimed in and knowingly stopped dirty thoughts from entering his friend's mind, "we haven't any time to lose," he locked arms with Arien and Legolas, dragging them from the room.
"Legs, are you feeling alright? I know you're upset about Aragorn, but there's no point to worrying about it now," Arien put in, "believe me. I've lost people I cared about," she blinked, "Four of them in fact, all at once."
Darin's eyes widened in concern for obvious reasons, "What?"
Arien sighed and said in a soft tone, as if she were explaining something to a six-year-old, "Don't worry Darin, that was a very long time ago. I'm over it," she patted him gently on the shoulder three times.
He cast her an uneasy glance but accepted her answer before leaving his friends and entering his room, "I shall meet you by the stables in an hour," he kissed Arien's cheek and closed his door.
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Raven smiled up at her three companions, "Are you quite certain I can't ride my own horse?"
The elves rolled their eyes, "Yes," came the reply in unison.
"Then who gets the backseat driver?"
The two males furrowed their brows in confusion while Arien smirked, "Legolas, you may have the honor."
"Right," he bent down toward Raven and took her hand gently, "It'll be just like before," he smiled.
"Great, but this time, can we avoid the spiders?"
"I intend to, but if not," he caught her lips on his briefly as he pulled her up and sat her behind him, "I've got more than one arrow."
"I can see that," Raven wrapped her arms around his waist and stared at the full quiver on his back, "Oh, hello King Thranduil."
"Lady Raven."
Legolas turned his head awkwardly to see the King, "Hello Father."
"Hello son. I thought I would come see you off," he placed a loving hand on the elf's knee.
"I shall miss you, Adar," he smiled grimly.
"And I you. I shall see you when the leaves are full."
Raven cut in, "What? But it's autumn! Are you saying we won't be back until Summer?"
"If we don't leave soon we won't be back at all because we won't have left," a cool voice interjected.
Darin turned his horse to face the newcomer, "Who are you?"
"My name is Armanis, an ambassador of King Aragorn," he responded with a stately air.
"Will you be riding with us, Armanis?" Arien asked in an equal manor.
"I will be doing more than that fair lady; I will be your guide," he tilted his chin slightly for etiquette.
"I hope you know a swift route, because the journey ahead of us most certainly is not," Darin said impatiently.
"I will take the best course I know," he directed his horse to the head of the group and went into a gallop, "To Gondor!"
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"Raven, we are here," Legolas nudged the she-elf behind him awake as his horse came to a stop.
She yawned cutely, "We made it Minas Tirith already? Awesome!" she cheered
"Um, Raven? Look around," said Arien.
The elf did as instructed and saw nothing but the gloom of Mirkwood, "Goddamn it!"
"It's okay Raven, it's okay," the woman nodded in consolation.
"Armanis, how long did you say it would take us?" Darin asked and jumped off his horse.
"Oh, it took me about a month," he dismounted.
"A month! This is going to be fun," Raven rubbed her backside once her feet touched the ground.
Under normal circumstances, Legolas would have chuckled or at least grinned at her response, but he was not in the mood for sarcasm; the idea of the coming death of one of his best friends was still fresh in his mind, "I shall go search for fire wood while there is still light."
The she-elf started in her chipper voice, "I'll go wi-"
"No," the Prince said in monotone.
"But-"
"No."
"I-"
"NO," he was gone.
Raven looked slightly taken aback, "Tsk, fine," she shook her hips and widened her eyes as she tied Arod's reigns to a low hanging branch.
Armanis blinked, "What a strange woman."
"You haven't the slightest," Darin shook his head, "I wonder why Legolas won't let her accompany him."
Arien looked down at him, "You can't be serious?"
He blinked, "What?"
"Men are so insensitive," she said darkly and went to join Raven.
"What!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Legolas walked aimlessly through the trees, making sure he could easily find the camp, and ignoring all the timber he came across, for it was not his reason for leaving his companions. He had merely used it as a rouse to find solitude; he needed peace to be alone with his thoughts. He could have chosen to take the comfort Raven never ceased to give him, but she had already suffered much because of him and did not need to deal with his misery.
He sighed and rested his back against a tree, "Aragorn, how can you be dying?" he breathed to the setting sun as his mind wandered back sixty years . . .
"Legolas! Oh Legolas? Legola- It's okay guys, I found him!" Raven swatted at a twig in front of her face and sat on her hunches in front of the Prince, "Wake UP you jerk!"
"Huh? What?" the warrior blinked and looked around quickly.
"'Oh I think I'll go look for firewood,'" She mocked and waved her hands over her head, "Thanks for forgetting to mention 'driving my friends half- mad because I decided to take a nap until it got so dark I couldn't see'," she finished in anger.
"I am sorry," he rose to his feet and offered a helping hand to Raven.
"Yea, well, you should be," she rejected his hand and fought to pull herself without grimacing at the pain of the wounds under her bandages.
Legolas took a step back in guilt; though he had protested to her coming, he had secretly wanted her to. She wasn't the only one who needed to be near the ones she loved.
"Don't worry about the firewood. Darin gathered some an hour ago," she turned her back to him and stalked back to camp.
The elf followed closely behind while trying to keep his distance; he had annoyed her when he forbade her to follow him and made her even angrier by making her worry.
The two fought their way through the brush and sat down in the firelight, "Here," Darin tossed the two elves apples, "while they're still fresh."
Legolas caught both of them and held one out to Raven, "My Lady," he said in his most cordial voice and flashed his most charming smile.
She was not amused, "I'm not hungry," she turned on her heel and took a seat next to Arien.
The Prince's smile changed to a smirk; she was cute when she was angry. Come to think of it, she was always cute. He sighed, "I love you," he shook his head while saying so.
She stuck her nose in the air, "Hmph," she crossed her arms and looked away, but one corner of her mouth twitched upward slightly upon hearing his words, as if she were fighting it, but no one noticed . . . except Legolas.
His smile returned.
Armanis raised his brow, "Strange."
Arien and Darin said in unison without looking up from their apples, "Uh huh."
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Raven sighed as she broke the surface of the cool water, "It feels so good to breathe fresh air again, eh Arien? It feels like we spent years on that path in Mirkwood."
Her friend swam up beside her, "Yea, and now we can actually see the sky again."
"It seems like forever since I've gone swimming."
"You have no sense of time, do you?"
"Nope."
"Arien sighed, "Well, at least the worst of the journey's over now."
"Yea, and Lothlorien is so beautiful. I wonder if Mirkwood ever looked like this, you know, back when it was still Greenwood the Great."
"Could be."
Raven tilted her head thoughtfully, "I wonder if it ever will in the future."
Arien smiled, "Perhaps."
"You know what I miss doing?"
"Arts and crafts."
"No, this!" she yelled evilly as she slapped water into her friend's face.
Arien's eye twitched as she tucked her now wet hair behind her ears and tried her death glare on Raven, but it was no use. She was trying so hard not to laugh her eyes were watering, and no method of intimidation her friend used would dampen her mood, not even that of water.
Her eye still twitching, "Raven," she said softly, "are you alright? You look . . . thirsty," she sprang with lightning speed and dove down on the elf, submerging them both in the crystal waters of the Anduin. After several seconds of confusion, the two resurfaced for air, but continued their war in fits of laughter, unaware of the eyes that watched them. Eyes that had watched them for weeks. Eyes that were waiting. Eyes that would soon be ready . . .
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Just as Arien and Raven finished putting on clothes and fresh bandages, Legolas emerged from the bushes, "Hello ladies."
The green-eyed elf furrowed her brow, "How is it that you always show up at precisely the right time? It's weird."'
He shrugged, "How did I come at 'precisely the right time' just now?"
"Well, had you stepped in a moment earlier, you would have seen Raven and I half-naked-"
"And that just wouldn't work for me," Darin came up from behind Legolas with a smile.
"I DID come here for a reason, you know. The Lady Galadriel will see us now," Legolas motioned to his companions and led the way to the great trees of Lorien.
Raven stared in wonder at the city of the elves, which seemed to glow silver in the moonlight. Ornate archways graced entrances into tree trunks they passed as they ascended the endless stairs into the canopy of gold and silver leaves. Mysterious statues of elves and Valar that were forever immortalized in songs and legends stood at even intervals.
After several minutes of climbing, the four elves passed under a final archway, much more grand than the others, and stood at the base of another stair, "Wait here," An elf in a dark blue imperial-ish robe instructed without looking.
Seconds later, two figures clad in white appeared at the top of the stairs and began their slow trip down. When they entered the full light of the moon, Raven had difficulty from keeping herself from gasping; her gracious description had not been exaggerated. She had not known that one could be both beautiful and terrible at the same time.
"Welcome, friends of old," Celeborn began when they reached the bottom.
"And those of new," Galadriel finished as she scanned the faces of the four elves. Though Arien towered over her, somehow the Lady of the Wood looked down into her eyes. The instant their eyes connected, the woman's face paled but quickly regained its composure with a slight smirk. Next, she turned to Darin. After several seconds, he looked away, fighting blush. When she looked to Legolas, she grinned, "Prince Legolas Greenleaf, long has it been since you and I have met. I know of your business here, and you and your companions may stay here until you are ready to continue your journey. For now . . . " she trailed off and analyzed the young Prince's heart. His eyes watered ever so slightly, but soon after, he smiled and met her blue orbs with a determined air.
At first Raven, had been confused as to what was happening to her friends, but she quickly remembered what had made Galadriel a witch in a fool's mind; her ability to see into your thoughts. Her heart sank at the thought of what secrets the elf might find in her head, and fear surged in her veins.
As if could sense her panic, Galadriel immediately and instantly abandoned Legolas to gaze into Raven's soul. She squinted and tilted her head in concentration as the emerald-eyed elf looked on in terror. Seconds passed, and the ring bearer gasped faintly, "Leave."
The girl did not need telling and was down the first five steps before her friends even reached them.
"Hey Raven, wait up!" Arien cried.
"What troubles you, my Lady?" Celeborn asked.
"There is something strange about the Lady Raven. I could scarcely see into he heart, and what I did see was bits of clouded fragments," she scrunched her brow in confusion.
"What could be responsible?"
"I am not certain."
"Could she be . . . of higher power?"
"No, she has not the years or wisdom."
"Then what?"
"We can only watch to find the truth. Until then, we can only guess, but I could tell she means no harm. Somehow though, I sense that harm may come to her . . . but still . . . she is shrouded in the darkness of mystery . . .
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Raven could not stifle a cry of relief as she collapsed on the bed; it had been ages since she had enjoyed such comforts.
"They say Lorien beds are among the finest," Legolas stated, "Care if I test the rumor?"
The girl smiled pleasantly up at him and rolled over to make room, "Be my guest."
As the Prince sighed in pleasure for lying on such a soft surface, his mind returned to the incident with Lady Galadriel. After a few moments of quiet contentment next to the girl of his interests, he broke the silence, "Raven, what disturbed the Lady so?"
The other blinked, "I haven't the slightest," she lied. She figured it had something to do with the fact she was from a different section of the space- time continuum, but she was not about to tell him that, "What did she say to you?" she subtly changed the topic.
Legolas caught his breath quietly and set his jaw. He turned onto his side and propped himself up on his left elbow to look down into Raven's deep emerald eyes that looked innocently up at him. He loved those eyes and wished the she-elf who bore them would always be willing to flash him their compassionate gaze. With a surprising lack of effort, the warrior slowly slid his hand in his pocket, "She told me," he cut himself off as his fingers wrapped around the object.
"Yes," she urged him on, unconsciously closing the space between her lips and his.
"She told me that I should trust in what my heart says, and," just as the cylindrical entity emerged from his pocket, Arien burst in the room.
"Legolas, get off my spot!" she playfully demanded, "You're staying with Darin and Armanis in the lower part of the tree, remember?"
The Prince, blushing and looking exceedingly perplexed and annoyed, nodded silently as his eye twitched involuntarily. He replaced the contents of his pocket before anyone could see the secret, "Good night ladies," he placed a soft kiss on his love's lips, which parted in speech.
"I love you," they said.
He stopped walking to make eye contact with the girl, "And I love you," he exited with a smile and a nod to Arien.
"I hope I wasn't interrupting anything; he looked a little upset when I walked in."
"Nah, you're fine. He was just in the middle of saying something awkward and couldn't figure out how to say it, I guess. The break will do him some good to sort it out, whatever it was," she shrugged slightly and pulled the draperies closed to cut off the light from the outside torches and scrambled back to the warmth of her covers, "G'night," she rolled over.
"You too," came the reply from her affectionate friend.
"What did Galadriel say to you?"
"I thought that when you say 'Goodnight' you signify you were about to fall asleep."
"Shut up and answer the question."
Arien grunted, "Well, if you must know, she told in a nutshell to give Darin some time."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm afraid I'm not very good at male psychology so I'd assume she means 'he's a little shy'. Like I needed her to tell me that. I could have used some real advice."
Raven furrowed her brow in confusion; Galadriel had read Arien's thoughts, and she was from another universe. Why then couldn't she read hers? She spent the next several hours tossing and turning trying to make sense of the situation until she finally drifted into a restless slumber.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DISCLAIMER: No matter how much I wish I did, I do not own any LOTR characters or places. They belong to JRR Tolkien . . . wait, if he is gone, whom do they belong to now?
Legolas sighed in disgust; he had been searching the forest for Roain and Kasseendra for the past two weeks with no luck.
"Legolas, we've been out here for weeks. You know I want to catch them as much as you do, but don't you think it's time we returned home? Besides, the spiders probably picked them off days ago . . . not to mention Arien's going to kill me for not letting her come," Darin rode up beside the Prince.
His friend half-smirked. They had left as soon as he had made sure Raven would be taken care of, and Darin thought it would be best if Arien stayed behind to make sure she'd be alright, "I suppose we could give it a rest," he turned to the other, "I do miss home," he turned Arod to face the group behind him, "Head east; we return home!" cheers erupted from the elves. They would follow their Prince to the end of the world, but they were anxious to leave the gloom of Mirkwood.
The elves turned their horses and galloped to the palace, and Legolas and Darin held up the rear, "Don't worry Legolas, he won't come back. Even if he does, we'll be there. He'll never harm her again."
The warrior looked at his companion, "I plead the Valar each night to keep her safe, but I'm afraid that one day when I'm not looking," he looked away and cut himself off, "I'd die."
Darin blinked, "You really love her, don't you."
Legolas reverted his vision," Aye."
His friend grinned, "I can tell. It's been what, six months since she came to us?"
"And five days."
Darin nodded, "I can't wait until we get back."
"Nor I, my friend, nor I," he sighed and ended the conversation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The party of elves on horses continued their trot for several hours until the fog and gloom of the forest engulfed the last of the sunlight that sneaked trough openings in the dense foliage. It would be at least another good day of riding before they would reach the palace, but despite the miserable scenery and journey ahead, spirits were high. The group set camp and assigned guard duty, which had become a nightly ritual over the past two weeks. Though it was Legolas's chance to catch a wink of sleep, he refused to do so, "Ardis, I cannot sleep, let me take over," the other elf nodded in thanks and promptly dropped off to dreams.
The Prince saw that the fire burned low. He stepped outside the ring of light to find the pile of wood Darin had stacked for such an occasion, but he couldn't find it. Confused, he wandered deeper into the forest to find the timber. After a few minutes of searching, Legolas turned around empty- handed; the firewood was not worth getting lost over, but it seemed he was too late. He looked around frantically; the camp was gone. He saw nothing but the darkness, "Darin? Ardis? Ilumien? The fire must have burned out! Where are you?" No answer, "Darin?" Silence. The warrior stood alone in the dark, refusing to show fear. He would stand there all night until the sun rose if he had to, but then he heard it. The clash of metal reached his leaf-shaped ears, immediately followed by a bone-chilling shriek that stopped the rhythmic beating of his heart; he knew that voice.
"RAVEN!" he shouted will all the force he could muster. How did she get so far from the palace? Something must have happened, and she must have left to find him! There were plenty of other elves to search for Roain; why did he leave her? He should have stayed by her side, "Raven?" he called again as he ran in the direction of her screams.
Not far off in the distance he heard another voice. It cackled victoriously and was soon accompanied by another of Raven's pained cries. Legolas's eyes filled with fear and hate, "Get away from her!"
The warrior-reborn burst through a clearing and couldn't help screaming in agony at what he saw; Roain's naked form was mounted atop Raven's body with his lips were pressed against her neck, but she did not protest. Roain raised his grinning face to look directly into the Prince's eyes, and Legolas was mortified by his appearance. Roain's orbs were the darkest shade of black he had ever seen, a kind of black one cannot describe and can only be seen to understand, with blood-red slits for pupils. Crimson streaks dripped from the corners of his mouth, and he knew it was Raven's blood. Legolas looked down into her orbs helplessly and felt as if a lightning bolt had crashed out of the heavens and struck him; her emerald eyes were blank and empty. She was dead. The Prince fell to his knees in shock, but frozen fingers wrapped themselves around his neck and lifted him to his feet. He looked down into Roain's now lidless eyes. The demon grinned up at Legolas, revealing three-inch-long white fangs, "You are too late. Now I shall show you what your love truly is!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"LEGOLAS!" Darin shook his friend awake, "Wake up!"
The Prince woke with a start, "What? Where's Roain? Her eyes, Raven's eyes, she's dead!" he cried.
"Legolas, you were dreaming. Raven's fine. You will see her today, and Roain's gone. It was nothing!" Darin held onto his Prince's shoulders as a small circle of elves gathered around the source of the uproar.
"Darin?" Legolas blinked the world into focus, "What happened?"
"You cried out in your sleep, and I woke you. We need to start riding if we are to reach the palace by sundown," he pulled his friend up.
"No," Legolas said as he hurriedly folded his blanket and stowed it on Arod's hide.
"No what?" Darin asked, mirroring the warrior's actions.
"We must return to the palace before the sun touches the mountains," he ordered and leapt to his stallion's back, "Something is wrong," he waited for the others to mount their horses before breaking into a gallop, "I can feel it."
"I don't understand!" Darin called to his friend as he squinted against the wind.
"Neither do I!" he shouted back but didn't slow his speed.
"We need to slow down! The horses cannot keep this speed up for long," Elra, Darin's mare, already showed signs of fatigue.
"Arod can," Legolas breathed as his companions steady grew smaller and smaller behind him, but he refused to slow down. The image of Raven's death was still fresh and vivid in his mind, tormenting him. He needed to hold her in his arms and be certain she was safe. He urged his horse faster, "I'm sorry Arod, but you mustn't slow down. We need to get home as swiftly as possible."
The stallion whinnied and shook his mane. He was far too proud to slow his pace for even a second.
Legolas smiled, "I knew I could count on you, old friend."
Through the trees, the elf watched the sun sink lower and lower in the sky until it turned red over the mountains. He felt his heart quicken; he could see one of the palace turrets rising above the forest, "Almost there Arod, almost there!" he rubbed his horse's neck encouragingly.
Minutes later, the gates of Legolas's home greeted him as he dismounted hurriedly and sent Arod the stables. The Prince rushed in through the garden entrance, up two flights of stairs, and down the hall. As he neared Raven's room, the door swung open, and Arien stepped through.
Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when they spotted the elf- prince sprinting toward her," Gyah!" she yelped and jumped out of the way, causing him the discomfort of smacking into the door, "In the name of the Valar what ARE you doing?"
"I must see Raven," he answered quickly and tried to peer over the unusually tall woman's shoulder.
She sighed in exasperation, "You'll never find her in there. You took her down to the infirmary. Injuries like hers don't disappear in a few days," she sucked in breath and wanted to finish off by saying 'What the hell were you thinking when you left two weeks ago? She needed you to be with her,' but she saw the angst and regret in his eyes and decided to hold her sharp tongue, "Did you find them? Where is Darin?" she asked as she led him to Raven.
"No, we never found a trace of either of them, and Darin and the others are still on the way back."
"How did you get here so quickly?" Arien furrowed her eyebrows.
"Arod and I raced for hours to get here as fast as we could."
"Why?" she shook her head.
"I needed to see Raven."
"Yes, we have established this. Why do you need to see Raven so badly?"
"I saw her death in a dream last night, and I needed to know she was alright," he quickened his pace.
Arien nodded, "I wouldn't tell her that if I were you. She claims to be perfectly fine, but we both know that's her pride talking."
Legolas snort-laughed.
"That wasn't meant to be humorous," she eyed him irritably, "The point is her injuries, mentally and physically, were much worse that what they seemed."
"What do you mean?" he stared into her eyes and froze.
"Legolas, Roain nearly beat her to death. If he had succeeded in raping her, that wouldn't have mattered though; the mental strain would have broken her mind. She would have died," she said solemnly.
Though he already knew this, the Prince winced at her words; it disturbed him to hear the prediction aloud, "She WILL recover, won't she?"
"Yes, of course, she's too stubborn not to, but no one, I doubt even she, can tell just how deeply the trauma has effected her.
The elf nodded grimly as they neared the door to her temporary room.
"Legolas," she stopped him with the sudden urgency of her voice, "something happened to her before she came to us. She won't tell me what, but I can sense she's locked a memory in her mind that was less than pleasant. After the incidents with Kasseendra and Roain, I'm not sure how much more she can take. Whatever happens from here, it's up to you to protect her. Everyone, even elves with constitutions as strong as Raven's, has a breaking point.
Legolas placed his hand on the knob, "I know," he stepped through the door.
His elven eyes quickly adjusted to the light, showing him the silhouette of a sleeping she-elf, "Raven?" he asked softly and kneeled down by her side.
The captor of his heart stirred, "Legolas?" she awoke suddenly and sat bold- upright. The force of gravity caused her sheets to fall away from her torso, revealing bandages that came from her underarms to the base of her ribcage. She saw the pain in his eyes as they ran up and down her body, taking in every cut, bruise, and bandage, "I've missed you," she blushed slightly and her eyes glazed.
"And I you, melamin," he pressed his lips to hers.
She pulled her head back in her pillow, but Legolas lips remained hovering a few centimeters above her skin, "Did you find him?"
The Prince caught his breath for a second, "No," he could see the fear in her eyes and the goose bumps begin to form on the portion of her arms that were not hidden by her gloves, "But do not worry, I will not let him harm you ever again."
Raven nodded, "Are the others back yet?" she breathed.
"No, I took a much faster pace than they did because I needed to see you," he blinked the memory of his dream out of his mind.
"Why?" she closed her eyes.
"Because I love you."
"Really?"
Legolas lowered his mouth in another kiss and caressed her cheek with his thumb, "Yes," he spoke from the corner of his mouth.
Raven smiled against his lips and wrapped her arms around his neck, but he placed his around her bare waist. She pulled him down next to her on the small bed and snuggled up against him, "I'm so glad you've come back," she looked up at him with her emerald eyes, "Promise you won't leave me again?"
Legolas smiled down at the woman he loved and glanced at the wounds that occurred during his absence two weeks ago, "Yes," he placed a loving kiss on her creamy lips.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Legolas woke in Raven's arm to a light knocking from the other side of the door. He quickly answered it to keep from waking the sleeping she-elf, "Darin! You made it back alright!" he whispered.
His friend nodded, "We got here well after sundown, but then again, our horses don't have the blood of the Mearas flowing in their veins."
"What did you need me for?" the Prince jumped right to the point; he wanted to get back to the warmth of Raven's arms.
"It's not I who needs you, but your father."
Legolas furrowed his eyebrows, "What does he want?"
"I'm not certain, but he seemed upset. Besides, I doubt you greeted him when you arrived last night," he said smugly.
The tips of his friend's ears turned pink, "I had forgotten; Raven was all I thought about."
Darin smirked, "Let's go. Your father is waiting."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Legolas bid his companion farewell and stepped into the King's room, "Father? You wished to see me?"
"Ah, Legolas, why did you not come to me when you returned yesterday?" he knew what had kept him of course, but he took pleasure in hearing it from his son's voice.
"I'm sorry Father, but the Lady Raven ruled my thoughts yester eve," the faintest blush lit his cheekbones, "What was it that you wished to tell me?"
The warmth was quickly drawn from his father's face, "An emissary of Minas Tirith came to the palace three days ago. He brought tidings from the King and was sent to speak with you, but since you were absent, I agreed to relay the message to you. There is no easy way for me to tell you this, so I shall go straight to the point. Legolas, Estel, Aragorn, is not well. His Numenorian blood preserved his youth for thrice that of any normal man, but mortality has finally caught up with him. I am sorry my son, but he is dying," he placed a supporting hand on Legolas's shoulder.
Thranduil's words hit the Prince like a pile of bricks to the face; the man he saw as a friend, brother, leader, and even grown to love was leaving this world. Such was the bitterness of mortality, "I must go to him at once."
"I knew you would say such a thing. I ordered Arod fed with our finest oats early this morning and had him saddled. Darin and Arien will be riding with you I presume?"
"If you can spare them for a few weeks," it was not shame for asking that kept the Prince from meeting his eyes.
"Of course. Hurry and get them ready. I shall see to your horses and provisions," he dismissed his son with a wave of his hand.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Legolas entered Raven's temporary room and found her sitting up and in conversation with Darin and Arien. She smiled at him as he came near, but her happiness was quickly replaced with concern at the shocked expression on his face, "What's wrong Legolas?"
He looked up at the three elves, "Aragorn lies dying in Minas Tirith," he said in disbelief.
Arien's mouth hung slightly open, Raven's face paled, and Darin swallowed heavily, "I'm coming with you."
Legolas smiled grimly, "You know me well. I have not even told you I was going."
"Me too," Arien stated firmly.
"And me," Raven offered with sympathetic eyes.
The Prince's eyes widened slightly, "No. You are not yet strong enough to ride such a distance. You must stay here, melamin, where you can rest," he said earnestly.
Raven's eye twitched, "What did you say? In case you've forgotten, you PROMISED never to leave me again."
Legolas's expression quickly changed from that of sorrow to self-scorn, "No, I haven't forgotten, it's just that you are not yet well enough for such a long journey."
"Like hell I'm not!" Raven fumed, "You only just got back, and now you want to break your PROMISE and abandon me! I'm smart enough to know that a trip to Gondor is going to take much longer than two weeks; two MONTHS would be pushing it!
The warrior sighed in defeat and mentally scolded himself; he could single handedly take on a small army of Uruk-hai and live to tell about it, but couldn't control one wounded she-elf, "You win."
Raven's face lit up in a brilliant smile, "I knew you'd see it my way!" keeping as straight a face as possible, she pulled herself out of bed.
'Besides,' she concluded in her mind, 'he needs me just as much as I need him.'
Despite Raven's efforts to hide it, Arien saw the pain of her wounds shoot through her friend's eyes. Legolas was right; it was very unwise for Raven to accompany them in her condition, but it could not be avoided, "Raven, I don't think it's a good idea for you to come with us, but seeing as how you are as stubborn as an ass-"
"Thank you," she interjected cheerfully.
"- you're going to come anyway," she eyed Raven in irritation, "Regardless, I cannot allow you to ride your own horse; you do NOT have the strength," she looked directly into Legolas's blue orbs before continuing, "You will have to ride with one of us."
"No problem," the green-eyed elf shrugged.
The Prince swallowed. He'd be spending the next several weeks with Raven behind him, arms wrapped around his waist, or worse, she could sit in front of him . . .
"Hurry everyone, we must get ready," Darin chimed in and knowingly stopped dirty thoughts from entering his friend's mind, "we haven't any time to lose," he locked arms with Arien and Legolas, dragging them from the room.
"Legs, are you feeling alright? I know you're upset about Aragorn, but there's no point to worrying about it now," Arien put in, "believe me. I've lost people I cared about," she blinked, "Four of them in fact, all at once."
Darin's eyes widened in concern for obvious reasons, "What?"
Arien sighed and said in a soft tone, as if she were explaining something to a six-year-old, "Don't worry Darin, that was a very long time ago. I'm over it," she patted him gently on the shoulder three times.
He cast her an uneasy glance but accepted her answer before leaving his friends and entering his room, "I shall meet you by the stables in an hour," he kissed Arien's cheek and closed his door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Raven smiled up at her three companions, "Are you quite certain I can't ride my own horse?"
The elves rolled their eyes, "Yes," came the reply in unison.
"Then who gets the backseat driver?"
The two males furrowed their brows in confusion while Arien smirked, "Legolas, you may have the honor."
"Right," he bent down toward Raven and took her hand gently, "It'll be just like before," he smiled.
"Great, but this time, can we avoid the spiders?"
"I intend to, but if not," he caught her lips on his briefly as he pulled her up and sat her behind him, "I've got more than one arrow."
"I can see that," Raven wrapped her arms around his waist and stared at the full quiver on his back, "Oh, hello King Thranduil."
"Lady Raven."
Legolas turned his head awkwardly to see the King, "Hello Father."
"Hello son. I thought I would come see you off," he placed a loving hand on the elf's knee.
"I shall miss you, Adar," he smiled grimly.
"And I you. I shall see you when the leaves are full."
Raven cut in, "What? But it's autumn! Are you saying we won't be back until Summer?"
"If we don't leave soon we won't be back at all because we won't have left," a cool voice interjected.
Darin turned his horse to face the newcomer, "Who are you?"
"My name is Armanis, an ambassador of King Aragorn," he responded with a stately air.
"Will you be riding with us, Armanis?" Arien asked in an equal manor.
"I will be doing more than that fair lady; I will be your guide," he tilted his chin slightly for etiquette.
"I hope you know a swift route, because the journey ahead of us most certainly is not," Darin said impatiently.
"I will take the best course I know," he directed his horse to the head of the group and went into a gallop, "To Gondor!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Raven, we are here," Legolas nudged the she-elf behind him awake as his horse came to a stop.
She yawned cutely, "We made it Minas Tirith already? Awesome!" she cheered
"Um, Raven? Look around," said Arien.
The elf did as instructed and saw nothing but the gloom of Mirkwood, "Goddamn it!"
"It's okay Raven, it's okay," the woman nodded in consolation.
"Armanis, how long did you say it would take us?" Darin asked and jumped off his horse.
"Oh, it took me about a month," he dismounted.
"A month! This is going to be fun," Raven rubbed her backside once her feet touched the ground.
Under normal circumstances, Legolas would have chuckled or at least grinned at her response, but he was not in the mood for sarcasm; the idea of the coming death of one of his best friends was still fresh in his mind, "I shall go search for fire wood while there is still light."
The she-elf started in her chipper voice, "I'll go wi-"
"No," the Prince said in monotone.
"But-"
"No."
"I-"
"NO," he was gone.
Raven looked slightly taken aback, "Tsk, fine," she shook her hips and widened her eyes as she tied Arod's reigns to a low hanging branch.
Armanis blinked, "What a strange woman."
"You haven't the slightest," Darin shook his head, "I wonder why Legolas won't let her accompany him."
Arien looked down at him, "You can't be serious?"
He blinked, "What?"
"Men are so insensitive," she said darkly and went to join Raven.
"What!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Legolas walked aimlessly through the trees, making sure he could easily find the camp, and ignoring all the timber he came across, for it was not his reason for leaving his companions. He had merely used it as a rouse to find solitude; he needed peace to be alone with his thoughts. He could have chosen to take the comfort Raven never ceased to give him, but she had already suffered much because of him and did not need to deal with his misery.
He sighed and rested his back against a tree, "Aragorn, how can you be dying?" he breathed to the setting sun as his mind wandered back sixty years . . .
"Legolas! Oh Legolas? Legola- It's okay guys, I found him!" Raven swatted at a twig in front of her face and sat on her hunches in front of the Prince, "Wake UP you jerk!"
"Huh? What?" the warrior blinked and looked around quickly.
"'Oh I think I'll go look for firewood,'" She mocked and waved her hands over her head, "Thanks for forgetting to mention 'driving my friends half- mad because I decided to take a nap until it got so dark I couldn't see'," she finished in anger.
"I am sorry," he rose to his feet and offered a helping hand to Raven.
"Yea, well, you should be," she rejected his hand and fought to pull herself without grimacing at the pain of the wounds under her bandages.
Legolas took a step back in guilt; though he had protested to her coming, he had secretly wanted her to. She wasn't the only one who needed to be near the ones she loved.
"Don't worry about the firewood. Darin gathered some an hour ago," she turned her back to him and stalked back to camp.
The elf followed closely behind while trying to keep his distance; he had annoyed her when he forbade her to follow him and made her even angrier by making her worry.
The two fought their way through the brush and sat down in the firelight, "Here," Darin tossed the two elves apples, "while they're still fresh."
Legolas caught both of them and held one out to Raven, "My Lady," he said in his most cordial voice and flashed his most charming smile.
She was not amused, "I'm not hungry," she turned on her heel and took a seat next to Arien.
The Prince's smile changed to a smirk; she was cute when she was angry. Come to think of it, she was always cute. He sighed, "I love you," he shook his head while saying so.
She stuck her nose in the air, "Hmph," she crossed her arms and looked away, but one corner of her mouth twitched upward slightly upon hearing his words, as if she were fighting it, but no one noticed . . . except Legolas.
His smile returned.
Armanis raised his brow, "Strange."
Arien and Darin said in unison without looking up from their apples, "Uh huh."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Raven sighed as she broke the surface of the cool water, "It feels so good to breathe fresh air again, eh Arien? It feels like we spent years on that path in Mirkwood."
Her friend swam up beside her, "Yea, and now we can actually see the sky again."
"It seems like forever since I've gone swimming."
"You have no sense of time, do you?"
"Nope."
"Arien sighed, "Well, at least the worst of the journey's over now."
"Yea, and Lothlorien is so beautiful. I wonder if Mirkwood ever looked like this, you know, back when it was still Greenwood the Great."
"Could be."
Raven tilted her head thoughtfully, "I wonder if it ever will in the future."
Arien smiled, "Perhaps."
"You know what I miss doing?"
"Arts and crafts."
"No, this!" she yelled evilly as she slapped water into her friend's face.
Arien's eye twitched as she tucked her now wet hair behind her ears and tried her death glare on Raven, but it was no use. She was trying so hard not to laugh her eyes were watering, and no method of intimidation her friend used would dampen her mood, not even that of water.
Her eye still twitching, "Raven," she said softly, "are you alright? You look . . . thirsty," she sprang with lightning speed and dove down on the elf, submerging them both in the crystal waters of the Anduin. After several seconds of confusion, the two resurfaced for air, but continued their war in fits of laughter, unaware of the eyes that watched them. Eyes that had watched them for weeks. Eyes that were waiting. Eyes that would soon be ready . . .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just as Arien and Raven finished putting on clothes and fresh bandages, Legolas emerged from the bushes, "Hello ladies."
The green-eyed elf furrowed her brow, "How is it that you always show up at precisely the right time? It's weird."'
He shrugged, "How did I come at 'precisely the right time' just now?"
"Well, had you stepped in a moment earlier, you would have seen Raven and I half-naked-"
"And that just wouldn't work for me," Darin came up from behind Legolas with a smile.
"I DID come here for a reason, you know. The Lady Galadriel will see us now," Legolas motioned to his companions and led the way to the great trees of Lorien.
Raven stared in wonder at the city of the elves, which seemed to glow silver in the moonlight. Ornate archways graced entrances into tree trunks they passed as they ascended the endless stairs into the canopy of gold and silver leaves. Mysterious statues of elves and Valar that were forever immortalized in songs and legends stood at even intervals.
After several minutes of climbing, the four elves passed under a final archway, much more grand than the others, and stood at the base of another stair, "Wait here," An elf in a dark blue imperial-ish robe instructed without looking.
Seconds later, two figures clad in white appeared at the top of the stairs and began their slow trip down. When they entered the full light of the moon, Raven had difficulty from keeping herself from gasping; her gracious description had not been exaggerated. She had not known that one could be both beautiful and terrible at the same time.
"Welcome, friends of old," Celeborn began when they reached the bottom.
"And those of new," Galadriel finished as she scanned the faces of the four elves. Though Arien towered over her, somehow the Lady of the Wood looked down into her eyes. The instant their eyes connected, the woman's face paled but quickly regained its composure with a slight smirk. Next, she turned to Darin. After several seconds, he looked away, fighting blush. When she looked to Legolas, she grinned, "Prince Legolas Greenleaf, long has it been since you and I have met. I know of your business here, and you and your companions may stay here until you are ready to continue your journey. For now . . . " she trailed off and analyzed the young Prince's heart. His eyes watered ever so slightly, but soon after, he smiled and met her blue orbs with a determined air.
At first Raven, had been confused as to what was happening to her friends, but she quickly remembered what had made Galadriel a witch in a fool's mind; her ability to see into your thoughts. Her heart sank at the thought of what secrets the elf might find in her head, and fear surged in her veins.
As if could sense her panic, Galadriel immediately and instantly abandoned Legolas to gaze into Raven's soul. She squinted and tilted her head in concentration as the emerald-eyed elf looked on in terror. Seconds passed, and the ring bearer gasped faintly, "Leave."
The girl did not need telling and was down the first five steps before her friends even reached them.
"Hey Raven, wait up!" Arien cried.
"What troubles you, my Lady?" Celeborn asked.
"There is something strange about the Lady Raven. I could scarcely see into he heart, and what I did see was bits of clouded fragments," she scrunched her brow in confusion.
"What could be responsible?"
"I am not certain."
"Could she be . . . of higher power?"
"No, she has not the years or wisdom."
"Then what?"
"We can only watch to find the truth. Until then, we can only guess, but I could tell she means no harm. Somehow though, I sense that harm may come to her . . . but still . . . she is shrouded in the darkness of mystery . . .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Raven could not stifle a cry of relief as she collapsed on the bed; it had been ages since she had enjoyed such comforts.
"They say Lorien beds are among the finest," Legolas stated, "Care if I test the rumor?"
The girl smiled pleasantly up at him and rolled over to make room, "Be my guest."
As the Prince sighed in pleasure for lying on such a soft surface, his mind returned to the incident with Lady Galadriel. After a few moments of quiet contentment next to the girl of his interests, he broke the silence, "Raven, what disturbed the Lady so?"
The other blinked, "I haven't the slightest," she lied. She figured it had something to do with the fact she was from a different section of the space- time continuum, but she was not about to tell him that, "What did she say to you?" she subtly changed the topic.
Legolas caught his breath quietly and set his jaw. He turned onto his side and propped himself up on his left elbow to look down into Raven's deep emerald eyes that looked innocently up at him. He loved those eyes and wished the she-elf who bore them would always be willing to flash him their compassionate gaze. With a surprising lack of effort, the warrior slowly slid his hand in his pocket, "She told me," he cut himself off as his fingers wrapped around the object.
"Yes," she urged him on, unconsciously closing the space between her lips and his.
"She told me that I should trust in what my heart says, and," just as the cylindrical entity emerged from his pocket, Arien burst in the room.
"Legolas, get off my spot!" she playfully demanded, "You're staying with Darin and Armanis in the lower part of the tree, remember?"
The Prince, blushing and looking exceedingly perplexed and annoyed, nodded silently as his eye twitched involuntarily. He replaced the contents of his pocket before anyone could see the secret, "Good night ladies," he placed a soft kiss on his love's lips, which parted in speech.
"I love you," they said.
He stopped walking to make eye contact with the girl, "And I love you," he exited with a smile and a nod to Arien.
"I hope I wasn't interrupting anything; he looked a little upset when I walked in."
"Nah, you're fine. He was just in the middle of saying something awkward and couldn't figure out how to say it, I guess. The break will do him some good to sort it out, whatever it was," she shrugged slightly and pulled the draperies closed to cut off the light from the outside torches and scrambled back to the warmth of her covers, "G'night," she rolled over.
"You too," came the reply from her affectionate friend.
"What did Galadriel say to you?"
"I thought that when you say 'Goodnight' you signify you were about to fall asleep."
"Shut up and answer the question."
Arien grunted, "Well, if you must know, she told in a nutshell to give Darin some time."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm afraid I'm not very good at male psychology so I'd assume she means 'he's a little shy'. Like I needed her to tell me that. I could have used some real advice."
Raven furrowed her brow in confusion; Galadriel had read Arien's thoughts, and she was from another universe. Why then couldn't she read hers? She spent the next several hours tossing and turning trying to make sense of the situation until she finally drifted into a restless slumber.
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