How had the journey gone so bad so quickly? Aragorn struggled to answer that question as the darkness loomed closer and closer around them. If he was honest with himself, he'd have to say that the fellowship had been walking straight into possible destruction ever since they left Rivendell. However, the first part of their journey had almost felt like leisurely travel, one where they would stop along the way for smoking, cooking, and interacting surprisingly well with each other (well, except for Legolas and Gimli who mostly kept their hostilities in check). Then the crebain came, forcing them to attempt the pass of Caradhras. Bitter snow and an avalanche turned them from that path. Now they were looking for the doors of Moria, a place Aragorn had been to once and wished never to go again. The quest could be boiled down in a couple of cliches: can't go forward, can't go back; stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Only one member of their party was happy about their current road: Gimli. He insisted that the welcome and shelter the company would receive in Khazad-dum would even surpass that of Rivendell. Now he was walking with Mithrandir, assisting him in locating the doors. "Dwarf doors are invisible when shut," he was explaining loudly.
"Yes Gimli," said Mithrandir. "Even their own masters cannot find them if their secrets are forgotten."
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" groaned Legolas. Gimli paused and let out an annoyed grunt, but didn't say anything.
Aragorn quickly fell in step with the elf. "You've been doing so well," he said in a low voice. "Don't start bickering with him now. Remember, don't let him get to you."
"We're walking into a dark hole that even you and Mithrandir fear to go to," replied Legolas testily. "Once we're down there, we won't have access to water or food. There will be no place to go for cover or to flee if need be. That dwarf -"
"Gimli."
" - is acting like he's about to show us the most glorious place on earth," he continued. "You're lucky I'm restraining myself as much as I am." His voice faltered. "There will be no sun, no moon, and no stars down there. No trees. Nothing that lives or grows..."
"We'll get through there," Aragorn promised, slipping his hand into Legolas' and squeezing. "Just keep in mind that on the other side of this mine is Lothlorien. We'll be able to stay in the Golden Woods for a little while. We might even have time to slip off and be alone."
Legolas smiled at him now. "What a novel idea," he murmured suggestively. "What ever would we do to occupy ourselves?"
Aragorn's response was silenced when a glimmer shone from the walls of Moria. In front of them, reflected in the moonlight, were the outlines of a gate. They'd found the door to Moria.
##################
Legolas stood by the only tree in the entire landscape, listening to Mithrandir's frustrated attempts to guess the right password. He half-hoped the correct words would never come to the wizard and they wouldn't have to go into that lifeless, lightless, barren place. 'What then?' asked the treacherous voice inside his mind. 'How will the company move forward then? Can you endure no hardship, no difficult journey, even if things are better off in the future because of it? Are you that faithless?'
He chose to ignore that argumentative internal voice, instead focusing on Aragorn. He was standing by the dank pool of water, scolding Pippin about throwing stones. The ranger was kingly and authoritative; anyone would have to be senseless not to see that. 'I can't believe how much he's grown,' he thought wistfully but proudly. 'And not just in years. I'm truly the luckiest being in the lands.'
"It's a riddle," announced Frodo, interrupting Legolas' silent musings. "What's the elvish word for 'friend'?"
"Mellon." With Mithrandir's word, the gates swung open. It felt odd to Legolas that an elvish word could open the way to a dark, dwarvish place. "Why was an elvish word used for the password?" he whispered to Mithrandir as they walked slowly through the gate.
"The elves of this land and the dwarves of this mine used to be on very good terms," Mithrandir answered in a low voice. "Things weren't always the way they are now."
"Those were simpler times," responded Legolas. He was surprised to hear that a tiny bit of regret was in his voice.
Cautiously, the fellowship entered the gateway. Any regret Legolas was feeling turned quickly into annoyance when Gimli strolled up next to him. "Soon, master elf," the dwarf bragged, "you'll enjoy the fabled hospitality of the dwarves." Roaring fires, malt beer, red meat right off the bone! This is the home of my cousin Balin, and they call it a mine. A mine!"
Mithrandir lit the end off this staff, illuminating the entrance to the mine - and the dead bodies that were littered there. "No!" roared Gimli. "No! NOOOO!"
Legolas was horrified himself. There were so many of them, still in chain mail and clutching their axes. It was like they were doomed to an eternity of fighting. The smell of death was choking him. The sight of rotting but still recognizable corpses, the smell of decomposition, everything was overwhelming the young elf's senses. He walked to the nearest body and pulled an arrow from its chest. "Goblins," he spat out in disgust, though that wasn't news to anyone there. He drew his bow and edged towards the door, not caring if an entire orc army was waiting on the outside. He'd shoot his way through a million of them if he had to - there was no way he could let the fellowship go through there!
"Strider!" Sam's desperate, terrified voice screamed out from behind. Everyone turned to see the three other hobbits trying to pull Frodo back as a huge tentacle jutting out from the dark water outside pulled him from the doorway. Aragorn and Boromir lunged forward, slashing at that tentacle and all the others with their drawn swords. Legolas fired his bow, one arrow after another; all of their efforts, however, were proving futile. 'I've shot it so many times!' Legolas thought. 'The men aren't pulling any strokes either. How can it not be dying? Why isn't it letting Frodo go?'
Finally, what seemed like an eternity later, Aragorn managed to inflict enough of a hurt to the creature for it to release Frodo. Boromir caught him and the three ran to where the rest of the fellowship was standing. "Legolas!" Boromir screamed. Horrified at the sight of the beast coming again, Legolas fired, hitting it in what should be his head. It was only still just wounded; they had barely enough time to make it back into the mine before it smashed the entrance. Legolas grabbed Aragorn's shoulder, assuring himself that his lover was all right - for now, at least - as whatever light outside was blocked and they were entombed inside.
Aragorn put his hand over the one on his shoulder, trying to offer comfort. Legolas tried to stop the small tremors going through his body but he couldn't. A fear that he'd never known before was upon him. They were trapped beneath the earth, in a place where bodies killed by goblins still laid undisturbed. There was no sign of goblin bodies in the death that surrounded them. And now the only way out was to go forward.
###############
When their legs couldn't carry them anymore and their weariness couldn't be ignored, the fellowship halted for a rest. They stretched out on the cold, hard floor in the dark, trying to put aside their fear and unease for just awhile so sleep could take them. Legolas was lying on his side when he felt a body spoon up to his back and an arm slip around his waist. "Can it tell you a secret?" Aragorn whispered in his ear.
"What?"
"I actually planned this," he joked gently. "I just wanted an excuse to get some time with you in the dark."
Legolas let out a half-laugh, half-sob. "Well, it worked," he jested weakly, rolling to face Aragorn in the pitch-black. "Though I would have preferred a different location." Aragorn's arm tightened around him. "I hate this," he continued. "I've never been in a situation like this before. Danger is all around us and even my arrows and your sword can't stop it. The only way out is to walk further and further into peril. How can we survive if my arrows don't work down here?"
"I don't think anything could have killed that Watcher," Aragorn told him. "And I've been in many situations like this, feeling like a deer walking through a valley overlooked by uncountable hidden hunters. I know it feels like we'll never make it through, but I have before and we will now."
"You amaze me, Aragorn," murmured Legolas. "How can you have become so strong and grown-up in such a short amount of time?"
Warm lips touched his. "Necessity," Aragorn murmured against his mouth. "Men have to grow up in a short amount of time because our time on this earth is short, at least compared to that of elves."
A shudder of even deeper fears ran through the elf. "Don't talk about such dark things right now," he said. "Tell me instead how you survived these situations without losing your sanity."
Aragorn kissed him again. Legolas reached out and pulled him closer until their bodies were wholly pressed against each other. "You," breathed Aragorn. "You are the reason I survived then and will survive now."
Legolas rolled over, on top of Aragorn. Sighs, whispers, and needful whimpers escaped their lips as the lovers made up for lost time. Embedding his fingers into the man's hair, Legolas decided he was going to walk bravely forward, through Moria and anything else that stood between them and a renewed Gondor and Arnor. All he had to do was remember that every step they took was a step closer to his future with Aragorn; to get to that he was willing to endure anything.
To be continued...
Only one member of their party was happy about their current road: Gimli. He insisted that the welcome and shelter the company would receive in Khazad-dum would even surpass that of Rivendell. Now he was walking with Mithrandir, assisting him in locating the doors. "Dwarf doors are invisible when shut," he was explaining loudly.
"Yes Gimli," said Mithrandir. "Even their own masters cannot find them if their secrets are forgotten."
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" groaned Legolas. Gimli paused and let out an annoyed grunt, but didn't say anything.
Aragorn quickly fell in step with the elf. "You've been doing so well," he said in a low voice. "Don't start bickering with him now. Remember, don't let him get to you."
"We're walking into a dark hole that even you and Mithrandir fear to go to," replied Legolas testily. "Once we're down there, we won't have access to water or food. There will be no place to go for cover or to flee if need be. That dwarf -"
"Gimli."
" - is acting like he's about to show us the most glorious place on earth," he continued. "You're lucky I'm restraining myself as much as I am." His voice faltered. "There will be no sun, no moon, and no stars down there. No trees. Nothing that lives or grows..."
"We'll get through there," Aragorn promised, slipping his hand into Legolas' and squeezing. "Just keep in mind that on the other side of this mine is Lothlorien. We'll be able to stay in the Golden Woods for a little while. We might even have time to slip off and be alone."
Legolas smiled at him now. "What a novel idea," he murmured suggestively. "What ever would we do to occupy ourselves?"
Aragorn's response was silenced when a glimmer shone from the walls of Moria. In front of them, reflected in the moonlight, were the outlines of a gate. They'd found the door to Moria.
##################
Legolas stood by the only tree in the entire landscape, listening to Mithrandir's frustrated attempts to guess the right password. He half-hoped the correct words would never come to the wizard and they wouldn't have to go into that lifeless, lightless, barren place. 'What then?' asked the treacherous voice inside his mind. 'How will the company move forward then? Can you endure no hardship, no difficult journey, even if things are better off in the future because of it? Are you that faithless?'
He chose to ignore that argumentative internal voice, instead focusing on Aragorn. He was standing by the dank pool of water, scolding Pippin about throwing stones. The ranger was kingly and authoritative; anyone would have to be senseless not to see that. 'I can't believe how much he's grown,' he thought wistfully but proudly. 'And not just in years. I'm truly the luckiest being in the lands.'
"It's a riddle," announced Frodo, interrupting Legolas' silent musings. "What's the elvish word for 'friend'?"
"Mellon." With Mithrandir's word, the gates swung open. It felt odd to Legolas that an elvish word could open the way to a dark, dwarvish place. "Why was an elvish word used for the password?" he whispered to Mithrandir as they walked slowly through the gate.
"The elves of this land and the dwarves of this mine used to be on very good terms," Mithrandir answered in a low voice. "Things weren't always the way they are now."
"Those were simpler times," responded Legolas. He was surprised to hear that a tiny bit of regret was in his voice.
Cautiously, the fellowship entered the gateway. Any regret Legolas was feeling turned quickly into annoyance when Gimli strolled up next to him. "Soon, master elf," the dwarf bragged, "you'll enjoy the fabled hospitality of the dwarves." Roaring fires, malt beer, red meat right off the bone! This is the home of my cousin Balin, and they call it a mine. A mine!"
Mithrandir lit the end off this staff, illuminating the entrance to the mine - and the dead bodies that were littered there. "No!" roared Gimli. "No! NOOOO!"
Legolas was horrified himself. There were so many of them, still in chain mail and clutching their axes. It was like they were doomed to an eternity of fighting. The smell of death was choking him. The sight of rotting but still recognizable corpses, the smell of decomposition, everything was overwhelming the young elf's senses. He walked to the nearest body and pulled an arrow from its chest. "Goblins," he spat out in disgust, though that wasn't news to anyone there. He drew his bow and edged towards the door, not caring if an entire orc army was waiting on the outside. He'd shoot his way through a million of them if he had to - there was no way he could let the fellowship go through there!
"Strider!" Sam's desperate, terrified voice screamed out from behind. Everyone turned to see the three other hobbits trying to pull Frodo back as a huge tentacle jutting out from the dark water outside pulled him from the doorway. Aragorn and Boromir lunged forward, slashing at that tentacle and all the others with their drawn swords. Legolas fired his bow, one arrow after another; all of their efforts, however, were proving futile. 'I've shot it so many times!' Legolas thought. 'The men aren't pulling any strokes either. How can it not be dying? Why isn't it letting Frodo go?'
Finally, what seemed like an eternity later, Aragorn managed to inflict enough of a hurt to the creature for it to release Frodo. Boromir caught him and the three ran to where the rest of the fellowship was standing. "Legolas!" Boromir screamed. Horrified at the sight of the beast coming again, Legolas fired, hitting it in what should be his head. It was only still just wounded; they had barely enough time to make it back into the mine before it smashed the entrance. Legolas grabbed Aragorn's shoulder, assuring himself that his lover was all right - for now, at least - as whatever light outside was blocked and they were entombed inside.
Aragorn put his hand over the one on his shoulder, trying to offer comfort. Legolas tried to stop the small tremors going through his body but he couldn't. A fear that he'd never known before was upon him. They were trapped beneath the earth, in a place where bodies killed by goblins still laid undisturbed. There was no sign of goblin bodies in the death that surrounded them. And now the only way out was to go forward.
###############
When their legs couldn't carry them anymore and their weariness couldn't be ignored, the fellowship halted for a rest. They stretched out on the cold, hard floor in the dark, trying to put aside their fear and unease for just awhile so sleep could take them. Legolas was lying on his side when he felt a body spoon up to his back and an arm slip around his waist. "Can it tell you a secret?" Aragorn whispered in his ear.
"What?"
"I actually planned this," he joked gently. "I just wanted an excuse to get some time with you in the dark."
Legolas let out a half-laugh, half-sob. "Well, it worked," he jested weakly, rolling to face Aragorn in the pitch-black. "Though I would have preferred a different location." Aragorn's arm tightened around him. "I hate this," he continued. "I've never been in a situation like this before. Danger is all around us and even my arrows and your sword can't stop it. The only way out is to walk further and further into peril. How can we survive if my arrows don't work down here?"
"I don't think anything could have killed that Watcher," Aragorn told him. "And I've been in many situations like this, feeling like a deer walking through a valley overlooked by uncountable hidden hunters. I know it feels like we'll never make it through, but I have before and we will now."
"You amaze me, Aragorn," murmured Legolas. "How can you have become so strong and grown-up in such a short amount of time?"
Warm lips touched his. "Necessity," Aragorn murmured against his mouth. "Men have to grow up in a short amount of time because our time on this earth is short, at least compared to that of elves."
A shudder of even deeper fears ran through the elf. "Don't talk about such dark things right now," he said. "Tell me instead how you survived these situations without losing your sanity."
Aragorn kissed him again. Legolas reached out and pulled him closer until their bodies were wholly pressed against each other. "You," breathed Aragorn. "You are the reason I survived then and will survive now."
Legolas rolled over, on top of Aragorn. Sighs, whispers, and needful whimpers escaped their lips as the lovers made up for lost time. Embedding his fingers into the man's hair, Legolas decided he was going to walk bravely forward, through Moria and anything else that stood between them and a renewed Gondor and Arnor. All he had to do was remember that every step they took was a step closer to his future with Aragorn; to get to that he was willing to endure anything.
To be continued...
