Author's note: Can I think of a good excuse for the appalling lack of updates? Hmm. A-levels? Evil teachers setting homework deadlines in the holidays? I feel as though I spent most of the Easter holiday doing mechanics homework, yet somehow I only managed about half of the work we were set. Are they good enough excuses?
At least we've finished the syllabus in all subjects except chemistry, so everything from now until the exams is revision. I do think it's unfair though that we have our first exam before exam leave starts. Admittedly, it's only for the eight of us insane enough to do further maths, but it's still evil.
Anyway, enough of the excuses, on with the story.
***
The twins led Legolas into the house and towards the guest bedrooms, explaining as they went everything that Aragorn had said since his return. Legolas listened in silence, relating everything to what he already knew of the man. From Aragorn's story, he had assumed that the traitor had killed Aragorn's family, but now that Legolas went over the memories, he could only think of one person whom Aragorn stated had been murdered: Aragorn's unborn child. All he had said of the others was that they had been taken from him.
What if that was the other way around? What if he had been taken from them? But then, why not say it that way? Questions span round in Legolas' mind until he was almost dizzy from them, and still he grew no closer to finding the answers. The twins were almost adding to the confusion in their descriptions of Aragorn's behaviour.
Their journey halted when they heard the unmistakable sound of crying. The twins glanced at each other, concern passing between them, as they went to the door from which the sounds were emanating.
"Arwen?" Elladan asked, knocking. "Arwen, are you alright?" When there was no answer but the continued sobs, the twins pushed open the door. The room was much like either of the twins', light and airy, elegantly furnished. Wide windows let sunlight and outdoor scents into the room. But the twins didn't notice these things. They noticed the figure crying.
Arwen was lying on her bed, her face buried in the pillows, her shoulders shaking violently as the tears burst from her.
The twins went to her instantly, sitting on her bedside and laying comforting arms over her. Legolas hesitated in the doorway. He barely knew Arwen and didn't feel right about intruding on something that must be deeply personal. He had just decided to make his way to the guest rooms on his own, when Arwen spoke.
"He promised to love me forever," she sobbed, "but he doesn't. He doesn't love me anymore." Her words dissolved into incoherence behind her tears, but Legolas had heard enough. Perhaps things were beginning to slip into place.
He slipped away, lost in his thoughts. Aragorn had spoken of his fiancée, the one who had been taken from him. Legolas wondered now if she had been taken by threat rather than force. If whoever betrayed Aragorn had murdered an innocent child, why should they hesitate to kill Arwen? Legolas knew for certain that Aragorn still loved the one he had been betrothed to. If that was indeed Arwen, then Aragorn was lying to her, and he would need a very good reason to do that. Aragorn was one who respected the truth, so much so that Legolas couldn't recall him ever lying.
Legolas reached the guest bedrooms, and saw, through a partly open door, a figure standing at the window of one of them. He recognised Aragorn even from behind, and could tell from the man's posture that he wasn't happy. Without waiting for an invitation, Legolas entered.
"Aragorn?" he asked quietly. Aragorn didn't even turn round. Legolas wondered for a few moments if Aragorn was even aware of Legolas' presence. He seemed so distant, as though the few feet between them were a vast, impassable desert.
"I should never have come back, Legolas," Aragorn said at last.
"This was your home once." Legolas couldn't think of anything better to say.
"In another lifetime. I am not who I was then."
"But you still love the people you loved then."
There was a moment's silence. Aragorn's head was bowed, his face completely hidden from Legolas. But the pain in Aragorn's voice when he finally spoke was almost tangible.
"Yes," he said, "I love them still."
"Arwen is crying in her room because you told her you do not. Why would you do that, Aragorn? I have seen myself how deep your love for her is." Legolas took the chance that he was right, and Arwen really was Aragorn's lost fiancée.
Aragorn spun round, a look of sheer desperation clear on his face, his eyes burned into Legolas as he declared, "You must never tell her!" Legolas had only seen such power and emotion in Aragorn once before, when Aragorn was speaking of the one who had betrayed him. This time, however, it was not rage that broke through the mask Aragorn often wore, but pain and fear.
He was afraid for Arwen.
"I will not tell her," Legolas answered slowly, his calm the very opposite of Aragorn's tumultuous emotions, "because you ask it of me. But I do not know if you are right. I think you should tell something. If she is in danger, her family can protect her."
"Her family." Aragorn gave a bitter laugh. "Her family did nothing to protect the child she bore." Legolas' suspicions were confirmed, it was Arwen whom Aragorn had wished to marry, Arwen's child murdered by the mysterious traitor.
"Perhaps they would be able to help if you would only say who it is that betrayed you," Legolas suggested.
"No! I cannot tell anyone that! Not you! Not my family!" Legolas noted the slip Aragorn had made, but decided that this was not the time to comment on it. Aragorn turned away then, looking back out through the window. He leaned heavily on the windowsill, as though it could provide the support he needed through this trial.
"Leave me be, Legolas, I need to be alone for a while."
"I think you have been alone too long," Legolas told him. He rested a hand momentarily on Aragorn's shoulder, and then left the room. He wandered outside for a while, considering what he had heard, what Aragorn had said, and what he had failed to say. Legolas strode beneath the trees of Rivendell, as though they could offer him wisdom to decide how to act. He had known Aragorn for four years, and could not just stand by while he suffered.
Legolas turned back to the main house, the starting fragments of a plan in his mind. There was little he could do, but he would not do nothing. He went to the only place he could think of to go. Aragorn had told him he could never tell Arwen, but he had said nothing about telling Arwen's family.
He knocked on the door of Lord Elrond's study, and immediately got an invitation to enter. Lord Elrond was seated behind his desk, which was spread with papers and books, but it seemed to Legolas that he had not been working very hard. Lord Elrond's eyes were touched with the same redness that had been in his children's.
"My lord, may I speak with you about Aragorn?" Legolas asked. Lord Elrond gestured to the seat across from him. Legolas sat, wondering for a moment where to begin. His musings in the garden hadn't made him any more decisive about this.
"Aragorn has told me very little about his past," Legolas said at last, "but I have guessed more both from what he has said, and what he has failed to say. He told me he was betrayed, but refuses to name the traitor. I know he loves Arwen, yet he told her he did not. I think he fears for her safety."
Legolas hesitated a moment, thinking of what Aragorn had said about his fiancée, and wondering what it would be right to tell Arwen's father. It was possible, from what Aragorn had said, that Lord Elrond had been in ignorance of their relationship.
"Arwen was child, I think," Legolas said, not saying that the child was Aragorn's, "but it was not common knowledge. That child was killed by the one who betrayed Aragorn, and I believe Aragorn fears that the traitor might kill Arwen."
Legolas recounted everything Aragorn had told him, and Lord Elrond listened without saying a word. When the tale was over, Lord Elrond was staring at his desk, not really seeing it. Legolas saw the grief in the elf lord's eyes, and the understanding. Legolas hoped his actions would help, since he couldn't bear to be the cause of such sadness if it did not result in some good.
"Did he tell you why he will not name the one who betrayed him?" Lord Elrond asked at last.
"No, my lord," Legolas replied, "but he refuses to speak it even to his own people, the Dunedain. I asked Mithrandir about Aragorn's past, but Mithrandir was, if anything, more reluctant than Aragorn to speak of it." Lord Elrond nodded, but fell silent again.
"Thank you, Legolas," he said at last, speaking quietly and carefully, as though every word was a strain. "Will you let me think on this?"
"Yes, Lord Elrond." Legolas rose and left the room. A tension he had barely been aware of feeling was suddenly released as he stepped out of the door. This household was filled with sadness, and Legolas was stirred with more pity and concern than he could ever remember feeling. Legolas walked away, back to the guestrooms, and Lord Elrond remained in his study.
Lord Elrond sat there, turning Legolas' words over in his mind, replaying them in every way possible. At last, he summoned a servant and asked him to relay a message to Aragorn. Minutes passed, and Elrond struggled to keep the tears from his eyes as what Legolas had said spoke again its terrible message.
"You asked to see me." Aragorn was standing in the doorway. His face was expressionless, cold. Lord Elrond could only imagine the hurt Aragorn was feeling, a hurt that was now being echoed in Elrond's heart. Aragorn's beliefs, relayed through Legolas, were a bitter wound in Elrond's chest. They were each a mirror for the other's hurt, the other's betrayal.
"I spoke with Legolas earlier," Elrond said, "he told me what you told him." For a moment there was a flicker of worry on Aragorn's face, but the mask was strong and did not crumble.
"And?" Aragorn asked. He didn't let on what might be happening in his mind. He stepped completely into the room, standing before the desk. He was proud and regal, holding himself as the King of Men. The years of suffering had made him strong. The betrayal he believed he had endured had forged him in a white-hot fire, and now his edge was keen, his spirit strong.
"Do you really believe so little of me?" Elrond asked. His voice sounded pained even to his own ears, but he couldn't stop that. He had understood that Aragorn had been angry, and with good reason, but he never guessed Aragorn might assume this.
"I don't understand," Aragorn said, but Elrond thought that perhaps he did. He was skirting round the truth because the truth was too painful for either of them.
"Do you really believe me a murderer?" Elrond asked. The word was out, the question laced with hurt. Betrayal cut both ways. Elrond always thought his foster son would trust him. Perhaps it was he himself that had destroyed that trust, when he sent Estel away from the only place he knew as home.
The silence was almost a physical force, wrapping around them, hemming them in. Time could not heal all wounds. Sometimes, time could make them worse, as the sufferer remembered assumed injustices. Treasons that never happened.
"The child Arwen carried had a right to live." Aragorn's voice was cold, as though his heart was empty. Perhaps it was. Perhaps Elrond himself had emptied it, and now Elrond understood so much better the rage Aragorn felt. Aragorn thought him guilty of a treachery far worse than any he had committed.
"I never murdered your child, Estel."
***
Author's note: I know some of you guessed about Elrond being the traitor, but did you guess this? I seriously hope not, but, if you did, there's another surprise I'm hoping you won't guess.
At least we've finished the syllabus in all subjects except chemistry, so everything from now until the exams is revision. I do think it's unfair though that we have our first exam before exam leave starts. Admittedly, it's only for the eight of us insane enough to do further maths, but it's still evil.
Anyway, enough of the excuses, on with the story.
***
The twins led Legolas into the house and towards the guest bedrooms, explaining as they went everything that Aragorn had said since his return. Legolas listened in silence, relating everything to what he already knew of the man. From Aragorn's story, he had assumed that the traitor had killed Aragorn's family, but now that Legolas went over the memories, he could only think of one person whom Aragorn stated had been murdered: Aragorn's unborn child. All he had said of the others was that they had been taken from him.
What if that was the other way around? What if he had been taken from them? But then, why not say it that way? Questions span round in Legolas' mind until he was almost dizzy from them, and still he grew no closer to finding the answers. The twins were almost adding to the confusion in their descriptions of Aragorn's behaviour.
Their journey halted when they heard the unmistakable sound of crying. The twins glanced at each other, concern passing between them, as they went to the door from which the sounds were emanating.
"Arwen?" Elladan asked, knocking. "Arwen, are you alright?" When there was no answer but the continued sobs, the twins pushed open the door. The room was much like either of the twins', light and airy, elegantly furnished. Wide windows let sunlight and outdoor scents into the room. But the twins didn't notice these things. They noticed the figure crying.
Arwen was lying on her bed, her face buried in the pillows, her shoulders shaking violently as the tears burst from her.
The twins went to her instantly, sitting on her bedside and laying comforting arms over her. Legolas hesitated in the doorway. He barely knew Arwen and didn't feel right about intruding on something that must be deeply personal. He had just decided to make his way to the guest rooms on his own, when Arwen spoke.
"He promised to love me forever," she sobbed, "but he doesn't. He doesn't love me anymore." Her words dissolved into incoherence behind her tears, but Legolas had heard enough. Perhaps things were beginning to slip into place.
He slipped away, lost in his thoughts. Aragorn had spoken of his fiancée, the one who had been taken from him. Legolas wondered now if she had been taken by threat rather than force. If whoever betrayed Aragorn had murdered an innocent child, why should they hesitate to kill Arwen? Legolas knew for certain that Aragorn still loved the one he had been betrothed to. If that was indeed Arwen, then Aragorn was lying to her, and he would need a very good reason to do that. Aragorn was one who respected the truth, so much so that Legolas couldn't recall him ever lying.
Legolas reached the guest bedrooms, and saw, through a partly open door, a figure standing at the window of one of them. He recognised Aragorn even from behind, and could tell from the man's posture that he wasn't happy. Without waiting for an invitation, Legolas entered.
"Aragorn?" he asked quietly. Aragorn didn't even turn round. Legolas wondered for a few moments if Aragorn was even aware of Legolas' presence. He seemed so distant, as though the few feet between them were a vast, impassable desert.
"I should never have come back, Legolas," Aragorn said at last.
"This was your home once." Legolas couldn't think of anything better to say.
"In another lifetime. I am not who I was then."
"But you still love the people you loved then."
There was a moment's silence. Aragorn's head was bowed, his face completely hidden from Legolas. But the pain in Aragorn's voice when he finally spoke was almost tangible.
"Yes," he said, "I love them still."
"Arwen is crying in her room because you told her you do not. Why would you do that, Aragorn? I have seen myself how deep your love for her is." Legolas took the chance that he was right, and Arwen really was Aragorn's lost fiancée.
Aragorn spun round, a look of sheer desperation clear on his face, his eyes burned into Legolas as he declared, "You must never tell her!" Legolas had only seen such power and emotion in Aragorn once before, when Aragorn was speaking of the one who had betrayed him. This time, however, it was not rage that broke through the mask Aragorn often wore, but pain and fear.
He was afraid for Arwen.
"I will not tell her," Legolas answered slowly, his calm the very opposite of Aragorn's tumultuous emotions, "because you ask it of me. But I do not know if you are right. I think you should tell something. If she is in danger, her family can protect her."
"Her family." Aragorn gave a bitter laugh. "Her family did nothing to protect the child she bore." Legolas' suspicions were confirmed, it was Arwen whom Aragorn had wished to marry, Arwen's child murdered by the mysterious traitor.
"Perhaps they would be able to help if you would only say who it is that betrayed you," Legolas suggested.
"No! I cannot tell anyone that! Not you! Not my family!" Legolas noted the slip Aragorn had made, but decided that this was not the time to comment on it. Aragorn turned away then, looking back out through the window. He leaned heavily on the windowsill, as though it could provide the support he needed through this trial.
"Leave me be, Legolas, I need to be alone for a while."
"I think you have been alone too long," Legolas told him. He rested a hand momentarily on Aragorn's shoulder, and then left the room. He wandered outside for a while, considering what he had heard, what Aragorn had said, and what he had failed to say. Legolas strode beneath the trees of Rivendell, as though they could offer him wisdom to decide how to act. He had known Aragorn for four years, and could not just stand by while he suffered.
Legolas turned back to the main house, the starting fragments of a plan in his mind. There was little he could do, but he would not do nothing. He went to the only place he could think of to go. Aragorn had told him he could never tell Arwen, but he had said nothing about telling Arwen's family.
He knocked on the door of Lord Elrond's study, and immediately got an invitation to enter. Lord Elrond was seated behind his desk, which was spread with papers and books, but it seemed to Legolas that he had not been working very hard. Lord Elrond's eyes were touched with the same redness that had been in his children's.
"My lord, may I speak with you about Aragorn?" Legolas asked. Lord Elrond gestured to the seat across from him. Legolas sat, wondering for a moment where to begin. His musings in the garden hadn't made him any more decisive about this.
"Aragorn has told me very little about his past," Legolas said at last, "but I have guessed more both from what he has said, and what he has failed to say. He told me he was betrayed, but refuses to name the traitor. I know he loves Arwen, yet he told her he did not. I think he fears for her safety."
Legolas hesitated a moment, thinking of what Aragorn had said about his fiancée, and wondering what it would be right to tell Arwen's father. It was possible, from what Aragorn had said, that Lord Elrond had been in ignorance of their relationship.
"Arwen was child, I think," Legolas said, not saying that the child was Aragorn's, "but it was not common knowledge. That child was killed by the one who betrayed Aragorn, and I believe Aragorn fears that the traitor might kill Arwen."
Legolas recounted everything Aragorn had told him, and Lord Elrond listened without saying a word. When the tale was over, Lord Elrond was staring at his desk, not really seeing it. Legolas saw the grief in the elf lord's eyes, and the understanding. Legolas hoped his actions would help, since he couldn't bear to be the cause of such sadness if it did not result in some good.
"Did he tell you why he will not name the one who betrayed him?" Lord Elrond asked at last.
"No, my lord," Legolas replied, "but he refuses to speak it even to his own people, the Dunedain. I asked Mithrandir about Aragorn's past, but Mithrandir was, if anything, more reluctant than Aragorn to speak of it." Lord Elrond nodded, but fell silent again.
"Thank you, Legolas," he said at last, speaking quietly and carefully, as though every word was a strain. "Will you let me think on this?"
"Yes, Lord Elrond." Legolas rose and left the room. A tension he had barely been aware of feeling was suddenly released as he stepped out of the door. This household was filled with sadness, and Legolas was stirred with more pity and concern than he could ever remember feeling. Legolas walked away, back to the guestrooms, and Lord Elrond remained in his study.
Lord Elrond sat there, turning Legolas' words over in his mind, replaying them in every way possible. At last, he summoned a servant and asked him to relay a message to Aragorn. Minutes passed, and Elrond struggled to keep the tears from his eyes as what Legolas had said spoke again its terrible message.
"You asked to see me." Aragorn was standing in the doorway. His face was expressionless, cold. Lord Elrond could only imagine the hurt Aragorn was feeling, a hurt that was now being echoed in Elrond's heart. Aragorn's beliefs, relayed through Legolas, were a bitter wound in Elrond's chest. They were each a mirror for the other's hurt, the other's betrayal.
"I spoke with Legolas earlier," Elrond said, "he told me what you told him." For a moment there was a flicker of worry on Aragorn's face, but the mask was strong and did not crumble.
"And?" Aragorn asked. He didn't let on what might be happening in his mind. He stepped completely into the room, standing before the desk. He was proud and regal, holding himself as the King of Men. The years of suffering had made him strong. The betrayal he believed he had endured had forged him in a white-hot fire, and now his edge was keen, his spirit strong.
"Do you really believe so little of me?" Elrond asked. His voice sounded pained even to his own ears, but he couldn't stop that. He had understood that Aragorn had been angry, and with good reason, but he never guessed Aragorn might assume this.
"I don't understand," Aragorn said, but Elrond thought that perhaps he did. He was skirting round the truth because the truth was too painful for either of them.
"Do you really believe me a murderer?" Elrond asked. The word was out, the question laced with hurt. Betrayal cut both ways. Elrond always thought his foster son would trust him. Perhaps it was he himself that had destroyed that trust, when he sent Estel away from the only place he knew as home.
The silence was almost a physical force, wrapping around them, hemming them in. Time could not heal all wounds. Sometimes, time could make them worse, as the sufferer remembered assumed injustices. Treasons that never happened.
"The child Arwen carried had a right to live." Aragorn's voice was cold, as though his heart was empty. Perhaps it was. Perhaps Elrond himself had emptied it, and now Elrond understood so much better the rage Aragorn felt. Aragorn thought him guilty of a treachery far worse than any he had committed.
"I never murdered your child, Estel."
***
Author's note: I know some of you guessed about Elrond being the traitor, but did you guess this? I seriously hope not, but, if you did, there's another surprise I'm hoping you won't guess.