A/N: It's been a while since I last updated, but I've been overloaded with homework. It's the Chinese New Year break and the reporting period, so not so much homework. I'll try and get the next update in soon.
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Corruption : Chapter III
By iced1
Horns rang through the still air, causing Legolas to jump up from his place under the shade of a giant oak tree. He peered at the trees on the other side of the courtyard, looking in between
Sure enough, he saw the tip of a banner, green and silver like the armor of the Gondorian soldiers he had come to be too familiar with. He brushed the grass off his robes and walked quickly, but unhurriedly to the gate. As he neared the gate, the soft clip clop of hooves slowed considerably before pulling to a stop. He raised his right hand, and the gates swung open to reveal mounted soldiers of the King's Guard.
"Hail Elessar, King of the West!" Legolas said courteously as he bowed low.
"Hail Legolas Thranduilion!" replied the king.
Legolas extended a hand, helping the king off his steed. They embraced each other briefly before looking at each other closely.
"Mae Govannen, Mellon-nîn. 'Tis good to see you again, Legolas."
"It is good to see you again as well, Aragorn." they exchanged informal greetings as they clasped each other's arms.
"Hrmph." came a low grunt from a pony, "no hellos to Gimli?"
A smile played at Legolas' lips as he bowed his head graciously, "it is wonderful to see you again Gimli, son of Glóin."
"Hrmph." The dwarf said again. He allowed himself to be helped off his pony and he fell heavily to the floor with a great thud.
Legolas turned his attention back to Aragorn and nodded towards the guard who were still seated atop of their horses.
"Arwen." The king muttered shortly as an explanation.
"I should have known. How is she, mellon-nîn?"
"With child."
"That I know, Estel."
"Legolas! Stop looking at me like that!" hissed the king as he caught sight of the mirth dancing in the elf's eyes.
"Like what?" the elf responded innocently. Their argument subsided as Gimli let out another grunt, obviously wanting his presence to be acknowledged.
The two friends parted and the smirk dropped off of Legolas' face. They stood still glaring at each other playfully as Gimli took a stride, standing in between them.
"Well, come on, what are you waiting for?" Gimli said, breaking the silence that had formed between the three companions, "let us get into the dining hall, I haven't any more holes in my belt to tighten it!" He extended two stubby arms and splayed his hands across each of the taller being's backs and pushed them forward into a trot.
"My Lord?" came a tentative call from behind them.
Aragorn spun around, "yes, Brégiond?"
"What of the horses?"
"There's a stable just around the bend in the path, you can hand them to the stable-hands." Legolas answered for the king.
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The threesome entered the Dining Hall and the flowing chatter immediately ceased and all eyes turned towards the doorway, fixed on the two strangers that stood on either side of their prince. They took in the taller being, the man, and his kingly robes and his stance and broke out in whispers. Out of the corner of his eye, Legolas saw Aragorn stare up at the ceiling, pretending he could either not hear the compliments being thrown his way or simply could not understand the elvish language.
As abruptly as the chatter had started up, it died down again as they lowered their gaze and let it rest upon the short, stocky figure with his fiery red hair and beard. Gasps rang out around the room before eyes started narrowing into slits at the dwarf.
The contempt and dislike towards dwarves lived still in the inhabitants of the Greenwood. What their prince was doing with one of them, standing by it like a friend, was completely beyond them.
Legolas gently steered the uncomfortable beings to the table he and his father shared during meals and bade them sit down, which they did, but only after casting a wary eye about the hall. The servers cautiously served them and were just rushing away when King Thranduil walked through the doors and sat down with his usual flinging back of his robes. He nodded briefly to Gimli and sat down next to Aragorn and struck up a polite conversation with him on politics.
Legolas was expecting Gimli to be treated worse than this. His father had been loath to allow Gimli to enter his realm without being thrown into the dungeons just as his dwarf-friend's father had been.
"Legolas, I have read this letter you wrote to Estel, and I approve of your choice, as he was raised by Lord Elrond. But son, I ask you, surely you cannot be serious about asking a dwarf for aid?"
"Father, if you are referring to Gimli, son of Glóin, I urge you to remember that Lord Elrond, whom you seem to speak mightily of, chose him to be one of the fellowship as well."
"His being one of the fellowship has nothing to do with this, son. Do you not understand that he is a dwarf? That alone must be good enough to explain-"
"Explain what, father. It does not explain anything. He is but a dwarf, who cares?"
"Who cares? He is a dwarf, and dwarves are by nature greedy, gloating, hungry good for nothing beings that walk this land!"
"Father, should death fall upon you, there will be no way in Middle Earth to persuade Mandos to grant you a rebirth. You have insulted one of Aulë's creations. Aulë, father. The honest, intelligent – "
"Valar who caused the Noldor to become so greedy. All of Aulë's creations are greedy! I don't care, Legolas. He's a dwarf, and I refuse to let such an untrustworthy being walk freely in my realm."
"Lord Elrond trusted him, atar, why can you not follow in his footsteps?"
"Lord Elrond? Hah!" Thranduil scoffed, "He trusted everyone, son. His beliefs regarding who to trust and who not to trust have been proven to be unreliable."
"O Eru! We all walk on this Middle-Earth, do we not? Is it too hard for you to get along with the other beings that dwell in this land? I would trust Gimli, son of Glóin, with my life, dwarf or no. Isn't that reason enough to allow him to stay here for a little while?"
Thranduil let out an infuriated growl. "Fine. Do what you will. I will house him and feed him, but I refuse to arm or strike up conversation with him."
Legolas threw his hands up in exasperation and stalked off in the other direction. "Good enough!"
"Just think about what he would do to your title as Prince!" he heard his father call after him.
Legolas heaved a sigh as he recalled the conversation, which had taken place a week earlier. The two members of the royal family had allowed a simple question to form into a large argument over dinner in front of the elves. Father and son had been unable to look each other in the eye for almost two days. He noticed that his father was attempting to keep his eyes off the dwarf, who was eating with outlandish table manners, but his narrowed eyes kept falling upon the miniature stocky figure seated beside the man. The tension in the air could be cut with a butter knife.
The prince stood as his two friends finished their meal, and announced that he would be showing the guests to their rooms.
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A/N: Can anyone tell me if the elvish for father is ada or atar or adar? I know for names its atar, as in Illúvatar, but what about just plain ol' father?
Also, I'm extremely partial to reviews. Lovely things, them. A few notes to the reviewers of the last chapter (I thank them)
Jullez: Greenleaf is not his last name; it is merely a common-tongue translation for 'Legolas'. Thranduilion mean Thranduil's son. And he was originally from Mirkwood, but if you read the appendix, you will find that he takes a colony of elves to Ithilien.
Wilwarin: ah, yes, I knew that! haha. But really, I did, I just forgot the name, so I put in the common-tongue for it. I don't want to risk opening my copy of LotR, or more pages might fall out :( Thanks for your nit-picking, it's really helpful
Artemisa: don't worry, there will be no mary sues in this one.
The Lauderdale: yeah, I see what you mean now. I do seem to have a bad habit of writing series of contradictions. But hey, so did Tolkien! Elves aren't supposed to have beards, but Círdan does! I always did see Legolas as a rather unintelligent elf though. His repetitive cries of 'orcs!' or 'yrch!' do tend to strike me as stupid. I'll see if I can fix it later, thanks a bunch.
And more thanks go to Dimathiel and Deana. Hope I didn't leave you hanging for too long. Heh.
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