- -
Chapter Six
- -
One Last Time
- -
How can it be my narrow path
Is hidden from my eyes
How can it be the sun still shines
To grace the shimmering skies?
How can it be a woodland race
Can scorn one of her kin?
How can it be such evil lasts
Beyond the years of men?
How can it be that fate so cruel
Can also be so kind
How can it be the word unsaid
Can break the soul and mind?
How can it be a realm so fair
Can fall so low again?
How can it be a father's love
Can fade into the wind?
- -
Legolas' throat felt strangely dry. His sweaty palm shifted its grip on his elven bow, and he tried to will his beating heart into silence. To no avail, of course, since it only seemed now twice as loud, pounding tauntingly in his ears like a drum, along with the constant screaming of his mind that this was all a fantastically idiotic, stupid idea.
If anyone noticed the lithe figure, hooded and cloaked as a member of the guard would have been that walked quietly through the gates, they paid him no heed. Legolas could not help but wonder at this lack of security, but it worked to his advantage at the moment and he momentarily dismissed it.
It was burning in him, driving him, propelling him onwards. He had to see his father, one more time.
He knew the palace like the back of his hand, and had no trouble slipping from the places where there were few guards, into places guarded by many. For example, a short trip from the gardens, to a tree led him to the balcony of his own room.
He landed with the stealth and agility of a cat on the balcony, before brushing aside the still curtain that led within. Nothing had been touched. Whether it was by his father's order or the servants long- standing respect for their beloved prince, everything was untouched and exactly as he remembered it.
Despite the danger pounding urgently in his ears, he lingered, noting the carefully polished look of the chairs and desk, the books and papers laying exactly as he had left them, his weapon-making materials in one corner.
Someone kept the room cleaned and well dusted, and Legolas smiled as he paused next to his old bed. A worn spot in the carpet directly beside it where his hunting wolf had slept faithfully by his master's side. His smile faded as his gaze turned to the velvet covered case on the desk. He lifted the lid, his frown deepening as his finger's brushed the thin silver circlet that lay on the padded interior.
Shaking himself mentally, he turned, and cracked the door slightly, cautiously glancing up and down the hallway. No-one was in sight. He exit and crept down the still hall, hardly daring to believe his luck.
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind, however, then a door opened, and a dreaded figure stepped outside the doorway ahead. It was his father's door.
Legolas barely had time to duck out of sight behind a convenient tapestry when the figure glanced both ways down the hall, and then continued at a swift pace- in the opposite direction.
Barely containing a sigh of relief, Legolas cautiously waited until his uncle had disappeared from view, before going to his father's doorway.
It was closed, but unlocked. He opened it softly, and glanced inside. His mouth dropped open, and his features creased into a frown as he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.
His father lay on the bed, eyes closed. Elves only closed their eyes if they were in pain or utterly exhausted, and Legolas did not like the idea that his father suffered from either.
The tall, strong frame was now still and frail beneath the blankets. It was as if no time at all had passed between now and that day so many years ago. How could his father have remained ill for so long? It did not seem possible, and it was even less likely that he was ill [i]again![/i] Elves were rarely ill, and when they were, it was usually deadly.
Legolas hesitantly approached the bed, his heart pounding wildly in his chest. Should his father awake, what would he do? How would he react? Did he really hate his own son?
Legolas' breath caught in his throat and hot tears filled his eyes. He longed more than anything to see that face smile at him again, feel the warmth of those arms around him. He had rarely felt these things even as prince, since the relationship between his father and himself had been somewhat formal and distant, but he had always believed, with all of his heart, that his father loved him. No matter their differences, which were many, they were father and son, and they loved each other with all of their hearts.
He knelt slowly by the bed, gazing at his father's pale face, and felt his heart clench within his chest.
"Father..."
It was barely a whisper, and he was not even aware it had crossed his lips until his father's eyes slowly opened.
He hastily stood and scrambled backwards a step, ready for flight at a moments notice. But his father showed no sign of recognition, or even of understanding or awareness. It was if he still slept.
Then his father's face turned slowly away, eyes blank. Legolas bit his lip painfully, feeling as if his heart was entwined in the claws of some beast that was slowly tightening his grip, drawing blood.
Voices outside the door, coming up the hall. He had stayed too long. The balcony doors- locked. Cursing inwardly, Legolas shot to the door and slipped into the hall, disappearing into the nearest doorway just as two guards rounded the corner, talking so intently that they missed the forest green cloak whipping out of sight.
Much to Legolas' chagrin, they paused just outside the king's door, voices low and earnest. But when he heard of what they spoke, he froze, listening intently.
"I tell you, Mirkwood is doomed! We can do nothing about it, we are helpless while Mahtan holds the throne!"
"If we could just find him..."
"And how would we do that? You know the law!"
"And I know the law calls for just cause for banishment, Atar!" The voice snapped, and it was then that Legolas recognized the voice. Thailden, his old friend.
"We could never get the people to rally on our own, you know this." The voices continued.
"But they would do so for the rightful Prince of Mirkwood!"
"You speak truth, but we have not the rightful Prince of Mirkwood with us, and so there is naught we can do but hope, and pray."
"Maybe he has made it to Rivendell."
"But would the lord of Imladris take him in?"
"Even were Legolas truly a murderer Lord Elrond and his sons would take him in, but if I know him, he will never give up that easily. I wonder that I have heard naught of him all these years, but I assure you on my life he does not sit idle.
"But we have not heard of him, Mirkwood falls deeper into shadows by the day, and Mahtan does nothing!"
"If the Prince knows what the state of Mirkwood truly is, he knows he has the faith of his people. Something must happen, and soon."
A sigh, but no retort. Thailden continued.
"Do you know what remainder of the old men are still faithful to us?"
"Almost all, but it's pathetic the way they cower in submission, simply on threats!"
Thailden's voice was low and cold when he spoke again. "Perhaps, but Mahtan's threats are neither idle nor simple, and you can recall what happened to those that did not submit. They disappeared, along with their families. Mahtan knows elves would die before turning traitor, and so he lowers himself to aiming his threats at their families, and no elf could live with himself for that."
"The others gave into bribes, promises of money and land."
"That is true, and that show us which of the men will stand loyal to the end, those we can trust. But the ones that accept bribes will also sell out their fellows for the right price."
"But in the meantime- Mahtan has no idea we are still loyal to the prince, and we cannot be caught talking this way. He'd have our heads, we had best return to our posts."
"Indeed. We will speak more in time."
And with that, the soldiers parted in opposite directions. Legolas remained concealed until the footsteps were well past, and then cautiously peered out. Thailden must have gone back the way he had come, for the elf walking away from him, now almost to the end of the hall, he did not recognize.
As soon as the guard was out of sight, Legolas left the security of the doorway and ducked back into his own room, mind whirling.
He didn't bother going back to the gate, but instead risked going over the garden walls, noticing this time how close the trees had grown over the years, allowing easy access to any intruder with any climbing skill.
He dropped lightly to the other side, and was able to time the sentry rounds, also noticing that they walked now only in pairs. In his father's time the sentries had patrolled in groups of four, if only for their own safety.
He made it into the trees, and paused, looking back as the full impact of what he had done hit him. He had gotten in and out of Mirkwood palace with absolutely no trouble. Which meant the same could be true for anyone else.
Valar, had he been an assassin he could have murdered the king and escaped!
And then the information he gained from Atar and Thailden- that alone sent his mind reeling. He could not leave his realm in the hands of a tyrant. He could not let his people down. He would not.
- -
Swiftly and silently he swept through the trees. They waved in the wind, swaying bending, speaking to him, to their prince. [i]A little further, guards ahead, more to the right, the way is clear.[/i] Stopping by the hollow tree where he had hidden his pack, he aimed for the place that always brought him peace. A secluded glade in the deepest part of Mirkwood forest, where no other Wood elves had ever dared to venture alone.
It was hours later when he slipped into the clearing, the sounds of the gently trickling water and the wind reaching out to him, soothing him, offering him safety and comfort. He let himself drop beside the pool and trailed his fingers along the surface of the water, before stooping and drinking, unknowingly copying the movements of the ranger that had passed there not long before.
He sighed and eased back onto his knees, satisfied. Birds sang peacefully in the swaying trees. the water sang on, undisturbed. A butterfly flitted into sight, alighting on a swaying reed and folding its wings. Legolas' gaze swept the clearing, his sharp eyes and ears taking in all these things.
He instantly noticed the arrow.
He stood, instantly on guard. Who had ventured this deep into Mirkwood? To the one place that had remained hidden and secret all of these years? Uneasiness swept his mind like a cloud, and he cautiously approached the arrow. It resembled his own so closely that for a moment he wondered if it might possibly be, but that was impossible... Wasn't it? He would never be as careless as to leave it for anyone to find, even in so safe a place.
He reached out and easily pulled the shaft from the wood, a confused frown creasing his features as he fingered the cord hung on it. And there was- a message?
None of this made any sense, but sure enough, a piece of parchment was rolled around the shaft. He dropped to a crouch and set the cord on the ground, and then unrolled the message.
His eyes narrowed as he read.
The letter offered thanks for something, and spoke of unpayable debts. The writer offered his aid- [i]"I am of the rangers of the North, as you know, and if ever I can repay your assistance, myself or one of my kin should be easily found in the town of Dunslow, seventy leagues to the west, near the Misty Mountains."[/i]
The letter was signed: Arathorn son of Arador...
Arathorn- the ranger he had saved from orcs. Legolas was, to say the least, surprised at the courtesy this man was showing him, an elf. He had no idea how the man had known he would find the message here, but right now, it was an answer to prayer.
Thoughts and images flashed across his mind almost too quick for comprehension- his father's face, his uncle, Thailden and Atar speaking in he hallway-
"We could never get the people to rally on our own, you know this!
"But they would do so for the rightful Prince of Mirkwood!"
Legolas reached down and gently took up the cord, on which a smooth silver stone was hung. One side of the stone was smooth and cool beneath his fingers, on the other, a star was etched into the stone.
A slight grin spread across the elf's face as a plan began to form in his mind.
- -
Yes, I know! What is wrong with me! I thought I said this chapter was going to be long! I thought I did to, but- er, well... I don't know! I just don't know!!! But- this is just to say if anybody has been getting BORED, because, I agree, these first chapters have been really slow, things are
going to dramatically speed up, starting NOW! With this chapter!!! claps Alright! It's funner to write anyways, lol! Also, sorry I haven't posted in... what- a week? Sheesh! But never fear! I have made good use of
the time and written up the next chapter! Meaning I can post it just as
soon as everyone reviews! So PLEASE review! Thanx a ton!
Tev
- -
[b]forever-mortal:[/b] Thank you, I'm glad somebody likes it! :P lol, and do not worry, I most certainly plan to keep it coming!
[b]Farflung:[/b] llol, the neck thing- good, glad you caught it- do keep that in mind for the future! And I think you called this one "a contemplative chapter before the storm." You are SO right! So much is going to happen in the next chapters alone that I wanted just one last little "quiet moment"! Maybe it was a little much...
[b]Aura Carina[/b] Oh, do not worry- I specialize in cliffhangers, but for some reason this story so far hasn't really had any... well, then, I'll just have to make up for that with some really bad ones later on! evil grin Yeah, I agree on the move-the-action-along comment- as FarFlung said, this was just the "contemplative chapter before the storm," so get ready for the fireworks! The rest of the chapters are going to be PACKED! (Or, in my opinion! Lol)
[b]From the Silent Planet[/b] Thank you, it's actually a lot of fun finding poems and lyrics to fit the chapter! lol
[b]A Sly Fan[/b]: Hmm.. Is that a compliment? Lol, I know what you mean! :)
[b]Legolas-gurl88:[/b] Geez, Troy sounds awesome! I can't wait to see it! And I will post again soon, lucky for you, because I already have the next chapter written! Yay!
[b]Ancalimawen:[/b] Yes, there will be several sequels, If I have anything to say about it! This is going to eventually and with a little luck turn into a series of fanfictions! I have no idea what it will be called yet but I am thinking about it!
Chapter Six
- -
One Last Time
- -
How can it be my narrow path
Is hidden from my eyes
How can it be the sun still shines
To grace the shimmering skies?
How can it be a woodland race
Can scorn one of her kin?
How can it be such evil lasts
Beyond the years of men?
How can it be that fate so cruel
Can also be so kind
How can it be the word unsaid
Can break the soul and mind?
How can it be a realm so fair
Can fall so low again?
How can it be a father's love
Can fade into the wind?
- -
Legolas' throat felt strangely dry. His sweaty palm shifted its grip on his elven bow, and he tried to will his beating heart into silence. To no avail, of course, since it only seemed now twice as loud, pounding tauntingly in his ears like a drum, along with the constant screaming of his mind that this was all a fantastically idiotic, stupid idea.
If anyone noticed the lithe figure, hooded and cloaked as a member of the guard would have been that walked quietly through the gates, they paid him no heed. Legolas could not help but wonder at this lack of security, but it worked to his advantage at the moment and he momentarily dismissed it.
It was burning in him, driving him, propelling him onwards. He had to see his father, one more time.
He knew the palace like the back of his hand, and had no trouble slipping from the places where there were few guards, into places guarded by many. For example, a short trip from the gardens, to a tree led him to the balcony of his own room.
He landed with the stealth and agility of a cat on the balcony, before brushing aside the still curtain that led within. Nothing had been touched. Whether it was by his father's order or the servants long- standing respect for their beloved prince, everything was untouched and exactly as he remembered it.
Despite the danger pounding urgently in his ears, he lingered, noting the carefully polished look of the chairs and desk, the books and papers laying exactly as he had left them, his weapon-making materials in one corner.
Someone kept the room cleaned and well dusted, and Legolas smiled as he paused next to his old bed. A worn spot in the carpet directly beside it where his hunting wolf had slept faithfully by his master's side. His smile faded as his gaze turned to the velvet covered case on the desk. He lifted the lid, his frown deepening as his finger's brushed the thin silver circlet that lay on the padded interior.
Shaking himself mentally, he turned, and cracked the door slightly, cautiously glancing up and down the hallway. No-one was in sight. He exit and crept down the still hall, hardly daring to believe his luck.
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind, however, then a door opened, and a dreaded figure stepped outside the doorway ahead. It was his father's door.
Legolas barely had time to duck out of sight behind a convenient tapestry when the figure glanced both ways down the hall, and then continued at a swift pace- in the opposite direction.
Barely containing a sigh of relief, Legolas cautiously waited until his uncle had disappeared from view, before going to his father's doorway.
It was closed, but unlocked. He opened it softly, and glanced inside. His mouth dropped open, and his features creased into a frown as he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.
His father lay on the bed, eyes closed. Elves only closed their eyes if they were in pain or utterly exhausted, and Legolas did not like the idea that his father suffered from either.
The tall, strong frame was now still and frail beneath the blankets. It was as if no time at all had passed between now and that day so many years ago. How could his father have remained ill for so long? It did not seem possible, and it was even less likely that he was ill [i]again![/i] Elves were rarely ill, and when they were, it was usually deadly.
Legolas hesitantly approached the bed, his heart pounding wildly in his chest. Should his father awake, what would he do? How would he react? Did he really hate his own son?
Legolas' breath caught in his throat and hot tears filled his eyes. He longed more than anything to see that face smile at him again, feel the warmth of those arms around him. He had rarely felt these things even as prince, since the relationship between his father and himself had been somewhat formal and distant, but he had always believed, with all of his heart, that his father loved him. No matter their differences, which were many, they were father and son, and they loved each other with all of their hearts.
He knelt slowly by the bed, gazing at his father's pale face, and felt his heart clench within his chest.
"Father..."
It was barely a whisper, and he was not even aware it had crossed his lips until his father's eyes slowly opened.
He hastily stood and scrambled backwards a step, ready for flight at a moments notice. But his father showed no sign of recognition, or even of understanding or awareness. It was if he still slept.
Then his father's face turned slowly away, eyes blank. Legolas bit his lip painfully, feeling as if his heart was entwined in the claws of some beast that was slowly tightening his grip, drawing blood.
Voices outside the door, coming up the hall. He had stayed too long. The balcony doors- locked. Cursing inwardly, Legolas shot to the door and slipped into the hall, disappearing into the nearest doorway just as two guards rounded the corner, talking so intently that they missed the forest green cloak whipping out of sight.
Much to Legolas' chagrin, they paused just outside the king's door, voices low and earnest. But when he heard of what they spoke, he froze, listening intently.
"I tell you, Mirkwood is doomed! We can do nothing about it, we are helpless while Mahtan holds the throne!"
"If we could just find him..."
"And how would we do that? You know the law!"
"And I know the law calls for just cause for banishment, Atar!" The voice snapped, and it was then that Legolas recognized the voice. Thailden, his old friend.
"We could never get the people to rally on our own, you know this." The voices continued.
"But they would do so for the rightful Prince of Mirkwood!"
"You speak truth, but we have not the rightful Prince of Mirkwood with us, and so there is naught we can do but hope, and pray."
"Maybe he has made it to Rivendell."
"But would the lord of Imladris take him in?"
"Even were Legolas truly a murderer Lord Elrond and his sons would take him in, but if I know him, he will never give up that easily. I wonder that I have heard naught of him all these years, but I assure you on my life he does not sit idle.
"But we have not heard of him, Mirkwood falls deeper into shadows by the day, and Mahtan does nothing!"
"If the Prince knows what the state of Mirkwood truly is, he knows he has the faith of his people. Something must happen, and soon."
A sigh, but no retort. Thailden continued.
"Do you know what remainder of the old men are still faithful to us?"
"Almost all, but it's pathetic the way they cower in submission, simply on threats!"
Thailden's voice was low and cold when he spoke again. "Perhaps, but Mahtan's threats are neither idle nor simple, and you can recall what happened to those that did not submit. They disappeared, along with their families. Mahtan knows elves would die before turning traitor, and so he lowers himself to aiming his threats at their families, and no elf could live with himself for that."
"The others gave into bribes, promises of money and land."
"That is true, and that show us which of the men will stand loyal to the end, those we can trust. But the ones that accept bribes will also sell out their fellows for the right price."
"But in the meantime- Mahtan has no idea we are still loyal to the prince, and we cannot be caught talking this way. He'd have our heads, we had best return to our posts."
"Indeed. We will speak more in time."
And with that, the soldiers parted in opposite directions. Legolas remained concealed until the footsteps were well past, and then cautiously peered out. Thailden must have gone back the way he had come, for the elf walking away from him, now almost to the end of the hall, he did not recognize.
As soon as the guard was out of sight, Legolas left the security of the doorway and ducked back into his own room, mind whirling.
He didn't bother going back to the gate, but instead risked going over the garden walls, noticing this time how close the trees had grown over the years, allowing easy access to any intruder with any climbing skill.
He dropped lightly to the other side, and was able to time the sentry rounds, also noticing that they walked now only in pairs. In his father's time the sentries had patrolled in groups of four, if only for their own safety.
He made it into the trees, and paused, looking back as the full impact of what he had done hit him. He had gotten in and out of Mirkwood palace with absolutely no trouble. Which meant the same could be true for anyone else.
Valar, had he been an assassin he could have murdered the king and escaped!
And then the information he gained from Atar and Thailden- that alone sent his mind reeling. He could not leave his realm in the hands of a tyrant. He could not let his people down. He would not.
- -
Swiftly and silently he swept through the trees. They waved in the wind, swaying bending, speaking to him, to their prince. [i]A little further, guards ahead, more to the right, the way is clear.[/i] Stopping by the hollow tree where he had hidden his pack, he aimed for the place that always brought him peace. A secluded glade in the deepest part of Mirkwood forest, where no other Wood elves had ever dared to venture alone.
It was hours later when he slipped into the clearing, the sounds of the gently trickling water and the wind reaching out to him, soothing him, offering him safety and comfort. He let himself drop beside the pool and trailed his fingers along the surface of the water, before stooping and drinking, unknowingly copying the movements of the ranger that had passed there not long before.
He sighed and eased back onto his knees, satisfied. Birds sang peacefully in the swaying trees. the water sang on, undisturbed. A butterfly flitted into sight, alighting on a swaying reed and folding its wings. Legolas' gaze swept the clearing, his sharp eyes and ears taking in all these things.
He instantly noticed the arrow.
He stood, instantly on guard. Who had ventured this deep into Mirkwood? To the one place that had remained hidden and secret all of these years? Uneasiness swept his mind like a cloud, and he cautiously approached the arrow. It resembled his own so closely that for a moment he wondered if it might possibly be, but that was impossible... Wasn't it? He would never be as careless as to leave it for anyone to find, even in so safe a place.
He reached out and easily pulled the shaft from the wood, a confused frown creasing his features as he fingered the cord hung on it. And there was- a message?
None of this made any sense, but sure enough, a piece of parchment was rolled around the shaft. He dropped to a crouch and set the cord on the ground, and then unrolled the message.
His eyes narrowed as he read.
The letter offered thanks for something, and spoke of unpayable debts. The writer offered his aid- [i]"I am of the rangers of the North, as you know, and if ever I can repay your assistance, myself or one of my kin should be easily found in the town of Dunslow, seventy leagues to the west, near the Misty Mountains."[/i]
The letter was signed: Arathorn son of Arador...
Arathorn- the ranger he had saved from orcs. Legolas was, to say the least, surprised at the courtesy this man was showing him, an elf. He had no idea how the man had known he would find the message here, but right now, it was an answer to prayer.
Thoughts and images flashed across his mind almost too quick for comprehension- his father's face, his uncle, Thailden and Atar speaking in he hallway-
"We could never get the people to rally on our own, you know this!
"But they would do so for the rightful Prince of Mirkwood!"
Legolas reached down and gently took up the cord, on which a smooth silver stone was hung. One side of the stone was smooth and cool beneath his fingers, on the other, a star was etched into the stone.
A slight grin spread across the elf's face as a plan began to form in his mind.
- -
Yes, I know! What is wrong with me! I thought I said this chapter was going to be long! I thought I did to, but- er, well... I don't know! I just don't know!!! But- this is just to say if anybody has been getting BORED, because, I agree, these first chapters have been really slow, things are
going to dramatically speed up, starting NOW! With this chapter!!! claps Alright! It's funner to write anyways, lol! Also, sorry I haven't posted in... what- a week? Sheesh! But never fear! I have made good use of
the time and written up the next chapter! Meaning I can post it just as
soon as everyone reviews! So PLEASE review! Thanx a ton!
Tev
- -
[b]forever-mortal:[/b] Thank you, I'm glad somebody likes it! :P lol, and do not worry, I most certainly plan to keep it coming!
[b]Farflung:[/b] llol, the neck thing- good, glad you caught it- do keep that in mind for the future! And I think you called this one "a contemplative chapter before the storm." You are SO right! So much is going to happen in the next chapters alone that I wanted just one last little "quiet moment"! Maybe it was a little much...
[b]Aura Carina[/b] Oh, do not worry- I specialize in cliffhangers, but for some reason this story so far hasn't really had any... well, then, I'll just have to make up for that with some really bad ones later on! evil grin Yeah, I agree on the move-the-action-along comment- as FarFlung said, this was just the "contemplative chapter before the storm," so get ready for the fireworks! The rest of the chapters are going to be PACKED! (Or, in my opinion! Lol)
[b]From the Silent Planet[/b] Thank you, it's actually a lot of fun finding poems and lyrics to fit the chapter! lol
[b]A Sly Fan[/b]: Hmm.. Is that a compliment? Lol, I know what you mean! :)
[b]Legolas-gurl88:[/b] Geez, Troy sounds awesome! I can't wait to see it! And I will post again soon, lucky for you, because I already have the next chapter written! Yay!
[b]Ancalimawen:[/b] Yes, there will be several sequels, If I have anything to say about it! This is going to eventually and with a little luck turn into a series of fanfictions! I have no idea what it will be called yet but I am thinking about it!