5) Elrond visits Legolas
Elrond approached Legolas cautiously, taking in as much of the young elf's appearance as he could before confronting him with the information he carried. The delivery of the Andúril, the Sword Re-forged, had gone well, and the new found determination he had seen in Aragorn's eyes had made hope soar in his heart for Middle Earth and for the life of his daughter. Not for nothing had his foster son once gone by the name Estel - hope. But now the Peredhil had a very different task ahead.
"Legolas, I would speak to you." He said, finally.
"I wondered if you were simply admiring the view." The sharp retort brought the briefest of smiles to his face. He could see the dulling of the power of the Eldar in the young prince, and hear the harshness in his voice that many would not notice, for still his voice was fair, compared to man or dwarf. But if he was well enough to make such retorts, maybe he would not suffer as he father had predicted. Elrond had always thought the King of Mirkwood too doubting of his son.
"You father has asked me to relay a message to you if I were to see you." This caught the young elf's attention.
"Then I beg you forgive me for that comment, it was ill-thought. I meant no disrespect."
"Times are hard, Legolas. I begrudge you no opportunity for humour." He offered a wry smile, and took a breath of apprehension over what he had to say next. "Your father has said that he intends to travel over sea on the next ship. He has no doubts about the fate of the fellowship, and would have you at his side for his voyage west, away from all this darkness."
"He would have me abandon the fellowship." The young elf looked stunned. "As if it meant nothing. As if there were nothing I could do to help."
"He fears it will all be for nothing. He does not want to lose you, Legolas. Not when the elves are leaving Middle Earth and its future is of no consequence to your people."
"But I intend to stay, Lord Elrond. And have planned to do so for some time. I cannot desert the fellowship now, not when we are so close." There was a moment's pause as Elrond observed Legolas once more.
"Thranduil was right when he said you were too young for such a quest." He continued eventually. "I disbelieved him, yet I see the pain of grief in your eyes too clearly."
"And yet I am still here, Lord Elrond. I have not lost to it yet. I still have hopes that we will win through."
"None the less, what will be left of you to celebrate that winning day?"
Legolas sat, listening to the dwarf's heavy footsteps as he lumbered towards him. He turned in his seat and greeted his friend with a smile he did not feel as he was offered a steaming mug. Often since he had met the irritating, scowling, bearded thing at Elrond's council, he had wondered at the enmity between elves and dwarves, for it seemed to him that it had all arisen from their differences. Dwarves were loud where elves were quiet, had no respect for the trees save for the power that they could give them as fuel, liked dark and dismal caves over the light of a spring morning. These were no reasons for war and hatred. His promise to Gimli, that together they would visit the forest of Fangorn and the caves of Helm's Deep, seemed only to prove that these were foolish things to hold another race in contempt for.
"What troubles your mind, Master Elf?" Asked the dwarf in question.
"My father has asked me to travel with him over sea, to the Valar's arms and eternal peace."
"It will be nice to make such a journey with your father." Gimli hazarded, uncertain of the source of Legolas' disquiet.
"I have refused. He is leaving now, for he fears all of our efforts will be in vain and does not wish to see his home lost to Sauron's power." Gimli's mouth formed an 'o' of understanding.
"You will not see him again, then?"
"No, he will have passed when this is all over. It was something I have been expecting, in truth, but I had not expected him to ask me to desert the fellowship. Nor expected him to leave so soon."
"He cannot help but care for you, to want you at his side."
"He dishonours me by doubting me. By doubting the fellowship."
"Will you join him after the fellowship is done?"
"I know not. What use is there for an archer in a land of eternal peace? On Middle Earth at least I have some use. Some place to belong. I fear, though the sea calls my name from afar, I shall never wish to travel to a life where my existence means nothing. Where I can do no good, be of no help."
"I would give anything to live such a life," Gimli mused. "to have time outside of war for my craft. Dwarves are not such war-faring creatures as you might suspect, Master Elf. Once we were creators of beauty like yourselves. Though ours was of metal when yours was of nature. We are not so dissimilar as our people would have us think."
"You are wiser than I, Gimli son of Glóin, despite my greater years. Though I fear I have no craft aside from war. It was the life I was born to. I cannot imagine a life without it."