A/n: I have the sneaking suspicion that my writing is deteriorating
horribly. Ergo! I shall write more frequently and thus hope to improve.
Meh. I really do feel awful about my writing.
To respond to a query by a nice reviewer, yes, Mercedes Lackey is one of my favorite authors. And I have nearly all her books. *grins*
Oh, and later on in this chapter, I shamelessly make up a new species of plant and exaggerate the power of elven healing. *grins* Ho ho ho!
Disclaimer: No. I do not own it. I only own my box.
Chapter Seven: Eyes
Haldir walked a bit unsteadily to the outside observer. But he was upright, and his shoulders were in their usual position; raised and high with pride. His chin jutted forward, and his mouth was fixed in the neutral expression worn by everyone in court.
His, eyes, however, were cast downwards, refusing to meet others. If one could have looked into them, one would have seen a storm.
//What in all hell is happening to me?// Haldir walked sedately down the stairs, his stance perfectly calm.
//Oh, Valar, why? I am not supposed to even like girls. I know I don't like girls, point of fact. Legala... why do I think about her like I do? Admitted, she has no breasts to speak of, but it could just be the corset. But. But it isn't just that, it's the way her hair falls in front of her face, the way her hands move, the way she smiles and laughs...//
//What am I thinking? I cannot love her. I cannot. We will not spend much time with each other, anyways, for she is the greatest diplomat of her country and I am the Marchwarden.//
Haldir sighed. //Remember. You must as strong as a statue of ice, and as cold. There is no place for hearts in the world of politics.// Haldir's eyes hardened. //There is no place for emotions in a ruthless existance where none of them are valued. They are a weakness.//
Haldir smiled cynically. //Diplomats are to be pitied, not admired. They appeal to the emotions and common sensibilities. They have no hope against a leader with no scruples.// He walked back over to Legala's side and coldly held out his arm for her to grasp.
//Until this is all over, my heart must be dead.//
******************************************************************
Legolas looked curiously over to Haldir as he came out of his reverie and offered her his arm. The two had wandered apart in their journey down the stairs.
Haldir's face was as unreadable as a slab of marble.
Legolas sighed, and at his chest he felt the weight of the locket. Within it he had placed a small sketch of Haldir. Legolas sighed sadly. The portrait was a picture of Haldir smiling.
Legols looked down, and wished that secrets could be told.
//In marriage, a couple that love each other will sometimes choose to link their minds together. I suppose I must be pleased that Haldir does not want to meld with me, because that would give the game away. But... I am not heartless. I wish that we could be friends, at least. It would be good.//
Legolas smiled, and gazed at the locket. It was made of silver, almost remniscient of Haldir's platinum blonde hair.
//I love him. And at the same time, I'm so angry at him I nearly hate him. I wish 'we' could be, but 'tis simply him and me.//
Legolas walked into the main hall, and gazed dispassionately at his circle of friends. A server who seemed vaguely familiar came, offering a sculpted amphora full to the brim with the fey wine of Mirkwood. He was balancing it carefully. Legolas nodded impassively, and the young man carefully chose a glass to pour it into.
Legolas waited for his friends to notice his prescence, confident that they would not stay away once they realized he was there. They had been fast friends for as far back as his memory stretched. He accepted his wine from the server and began to drink it.
Liset, Gireth, Clara, and Lourie walked over, smiling at him, and began to draw him into their circle of gossip. But the Princess was not listening. Her eyes were pale and listless, and they were half-shut with pain. She took another sip of her drink, trying to calm her stomach.
//Nerves... it hurts... my stomach... stress? no. What is it...//
Legala's eyes flew open, and she bit down hard on her tongue to keep from screaming.
//oh, Valar//
Legala walked weakly over to the nearest flowerpot, claiming to need a bit of a breather. Every step pained her. When she reached the pot of flowers, she slowly poured the poisoned drink into it. Trembling with relief and the awful pains in her gut, she walked back over to her friends.
Clara looked concernedly at her. "Legala, are you all right?" she asked. Legolas looked up at her through bleary eyes. Her voice was so far away...
Legolas felt his mouth smile and heard himself assure Clara that indeed, he was all right, just a bit faint.
Then he wobbled, and nearly fell, and he had to grasp Lourie's arm to keep himself from falling.
Clara grabbed him firmly by the arm, and said quietly, "Feeling a bit off, Legala? Allow me to escort you to your rooms."
A voice cut through the murmer of voices, and to the Princess's relief it was Haldir's. "Allow me to assist the Lady Legala, miss. I'm sure it's nothing more than an upset stomach, you'll see. She'll be down again in no time."
A strong arm encircled his waist, and Legolas had to restrain himself from screaming in pain. //It HURTS!!!!// he cried mentally. //Valar, it HURTS!!!//
Haldir's voice and support led him through the sea of voices and people. He walked firmly and proudly, not showing the slightest sign of pain. Only Haldir knew just how much Legolas was clinging to him for support. Step by torturous step, they walked through the revellers and out of the Hall, and soon were facing the stairs.
Legolas looked up at the three flights, and whimpered instinctively. His insides were cramping up and making it pure agony to breathe. Stairs? //Oh, Valar, no,// he wept.
He couldn't even see Haldir anymore. Now that there was no one around, Legolas let out small cries of pain and half-choked sobs as the torment worsened and became more intense.
Every muscle in his body felt as though it were knotted. Every small motion set his nerves on fire. Every single step stretched his Achilles tendon, which felt as though it were a bunch of mangled cording. His eyes were pallid and his cheeks were waxen with the terrible, agonizing deformation of his muscles.
He had nearly lost conciousness from the pain when Haldir laid him down on his own bed, and he didn't realize that he had been softly calling out Haldir's name in his delirium. But once he lay down, much of the pain went away. It was only motion that upset his tendons.
Legolas looked up at Haldir with pathetic relief. "Haldir..." he said softly, "it hurt. It hurt a lot."
Haldir stroked his hair comfortingly. "I know, Legala, I know."
Poor Haldir had no idea why, at the mention of the Princess' name, she began to cry.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The physician had a grim expression on her face as she leaned back from the comatose girl. She turned to Romul and Haldir, where they stood waiting, terse expressions on their faces.
"I may not be the Lord of Imladris, but I know poison when I see it. I can only thank god that the Princess had enough strength to walk out of the Hall without letting out that she was in pain. If anyone had found out, I can only imagine the panic it would cause."
She looked back at Legala, and frowned. "It looks to me like brithos. That's a strain of poison that feeds on the meat of muscles, sometimes shrinking them. It's used as a medicinal plant to increase blood pressure and, diluted, to clean muscles up for surgery. But this," she said, tapping one of Legala's arms, "was undiluted. Someone wanted her heart's muscles to contract and stop beating. Someone wanted her dead."
Romul looked somberly at the body of his sister. There were dozens of hollow needles buried deep in her skin, at the places where crucial muscles were located. They were injecting an antiserum to stop the action of the brithos, which, thankfully, had not reached her heart, by pouring it down the needles' insides. Later on, the healer would use her own magic to stimulate the growth of the muscles and return them to normal.
//Everyone is so damn calm about everything,// Romul growled. //They're so serene. My sister is lying there on the bed, impaled with all those tiny funnels, being stuffed to the teeth with drugs, and no one's even batting an eyelid!// Romul glared at the carpet, and twisted his hands together, wishing that the neck of whatever bastard did this was between them.
Haldir was less furious than Romul, but he still felt a lingering sense of hatred at the person who committed the poisoning. //Legala's a good person. She shouldn't have to go through this. The only reason anyone did this to her was because of her title.// He sighed, and looked over at her still form. She hadn't even blinked.
Legolas drifted in a haze of drug-induced sleep, wandering in and out of conciousness and, finally, settling in a dark place where he could think clearly apart from his body. He folded his mental legs, and frowned.
//...Why? To kill me, I suppose. And that would prevent an alliance for who knows how long. But who? The same enemy that was foolish enough to station themselves in Dimrill Dale?// A thought occured to him. He blinked. //What if they weren't foolish? What if it is an ambush waiting in that dale?//
//That server... who?// The memory came and bit him. //He was the one who- Haldir was- they were fooling around in the trysting spot! That means it could be a personal vendetta against me, to regain his love. But... Haldir. Wait. If I know one thing about Haldir, he doesn't lead people on. And he is very, very loyal. He would never leave a lover behind. That elf was not from Mirkwood. He cannot have been from Caras Galadhon. So he must have been subverted by whatever enemy we have. But we don't have any-//
//Oh//
Thoughts flew through his mind at speeds too high to be caught. One thing was clear; this enemy was obviously much more intelligent than they had first believed. Whatever was in Dimrill Dale was not as stupid as it looked.
Legolas sighed, content with that idea for the moment, and let himself drift free again. Over his head, he could her murmered voices; his brother, the healer, Haldir- but they were all so far away, he couldn't catch what they were saying. He tried to open his eyes. It did not work, and the effort hurt. He slipped back into a place of nonreality, where the shades of grey wrapped about him and bore him off to sleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Romul stood quietly by the window of his sister's room. He looked up at the healer, who was completing her examination. The healer had an odd look on her face as she leaned back into her chair, but upon seeing Romul's gaze, she quickly schooled her expression.
Her name was Larien, and she was one of the best healers the palace had. What puzzled her were two things. The first, the Princess was burning off the drugs at an abnormally high rate, and woould wake up very soon. Secondly- and this was the most shocking-
//"She" is actually a "he"!// Her hands trembled a bit as she poured the last few shots of antiserum down the needles, hoping to god that no one else knew. Unlike some of her order, she had a brain for other things than healing. If any word of this got out, the scandal would be immense. She could only thank the Valar that the Princess- Prince?- had had enough common sense to behave as though nothing was wrong while she was at the banquet.
Romul questioning looks finally made her raise her head. "Yes?"
"Why do you look so worried? What's going on?"
Larien smiled reassuringly, and lied through her teeth. "It's merely that Legala's burning up the medicine very very slowly, which I hadn't anticipated. It's nothing to worry about. It'll be a good six hours before she wakes up, so you may want to catch a bit of sleep."
Romul nodded wearily, and with a last lingering look over Legala's form, he stepped out of the door, shutting it behind him. Haldir had had the sense to realize she would not be waking up anytime soon, and so he had already left to his rooms.
Larien smiled grimly at the Princess as "she" moaned softly and began to twitch. //All right. When you wake up, my dear boy, you're going to have a lot of explaining to do.//
*****tbc*****
A/n: Next posting will be two chapters at once, o¶l0«`H Ä©ÿPACK [?]ø9ò,¼;T®685:^ [?]F0Ø&P(¬(0(r(´(Ø)z*ÀôDfG0¤*\+ªDB x[?]¶/hxNu/x0N
To respond to a query by a nice reviewer, yes, Mercedes Lackey is one of my favorite authors. And I have nearly all her books. *grins*
Oh, and later on in this chapter, I shamelessly make up a new species of plant and exaggerate the power of elven healing. *grins* Ho ho ho!
Disclaimer: No. I do not own it. I only own my box.
Chapter Seven: Eyes
Haldir walked a bit unsteadily to the outside observer. But he was upright, and his shoulders were in their usual position; raised and high with pride. His chin jutted forward, and his mouth was fixed in the neutral expression worn by everyone in court.
His, eyes, however, were cast downwards, refusing to meet others. If one could have looked into them, one would have seen a storm.
//What in all hell is happening to me?// Haldir walked sedately down the stairs, his stance perfectly calm.
//Oh, Valar, why? I am not supposed to even like girls. I know I don't like girls, point of fact. Legala... why do I think about her like I do? Admitted, she has no breasts to speak of, but it could just be the corset. But. But it isn't just that, it's the way her hair falls in front of her face, the way her hands move, the way she smiles and laughs...//
//What am I thinking? I cannot love her. I cannot. We will not spend much time with each other, anyways, for she is the greatest diplomat of her country and I am the Marchwarden.//
Haldir sighed. //Remember. You must as strong as a statue of ice, and as cold. There is no place for hearts in the world of politics.// Haldir's eyes hardened. //There is no place for emotions in a ruthless existance where none of them are valued. They are a weakness.//
Haldir smiled cynically. //Diplomats are to be pitied, not admired. They appeal to the emotions and common sensibilities. They have no hope against a leader with no scruples.// He walked back over to Legala's side and coldly held out his arm for her to grasp.
//Until this is all over, my heart must be dead.//
******************************************************************
Legolas looked curiously over to Haldir as he came out of his reverie and offered her his arm. The two had wandered apart in their journey down the stairs.
Haldir's face was as unreadable as a slab of marble.
Legolas sighed, and at his chest he felt the weight of the locket. Within it he had placed a small sketch of Haldir. Legolas sighed sadly. The portrait was a picture of Haldir smiling.
Legols looked down, and wished that secrets could be told.
//In marriage, a couple that love each other will sometimes choose to link their minds together. I suppose I must be pleased that Haldir does not want to meld with me, because that would give the game away. But... I am not heartless. I wish that we could be friends, at least. It would be good.//
Legolas smiled, and gazed at the locket. It was made of silver, almost remniscient of Haldir's platinum blonde hair.
//I love him. And at the same time, I'm so angry at him I nearly hate him. I wish 'we' could be, but 'tis simply him and me.//
Legolas walked into the main hall, and gazed dispassionately at his circle of friends. A server who seemed vaguely familiar came, offering a sculpted amphora full to the brim with the fey wine of Mirkwood. He was balancing it carefully. Legolas nodded impassively, and the young man carefully chose a glass to pour it into.
Legolas waited for his friends to notice his prescence, confident that they would not stay away once they realized he was there. They had been fast friends for as far back as his memory stretched. He accepted his wine from the server and began to drink it.
Liset, Gireth, Clara, and Lourie walked over, smiling at him, and began to draw him into their circle of gossip. But the Princess was not listening. Her eyes were pale and listless, and they were half-shut with pain. She took another sip of her drink, trying to calm her stomach.
//Nerves... it hurts... my stomach... stress? no. What is it...//
Legala's eyes flew open, and she bit down hard on her tongue to keep from screaming.
//oh, Valar//
Legala walked weakly over to the nearest flowerpot, claiming to need a bit of a breather. Every step pained her. When she reached the pot of flowers, she slowly poured the poisoned drink into it. Trembling with relief and the awful pains in her gut, she walked back over to her friends.
Clara looked concernedly at her. "Legala, are you all right?" she asked. Legolas looked up at her through bleary eyes. Her voice was so far away...
Legolas felt his mouth smile and heard himself assure Clara that indeed, he was all right, just a bit faint.
Then he wobbled, and nearly fell, and he had to grasp Lourie's arm to keep himself from falling.
Clara grabbed him firmly by the arm, and said quietly, "Feeling a bit off, Legala? Allow me to escort you to your rooms."
A voice cut through the murmer of voices, and to the Princess's relief it was Haldir's. "Allow me to assist the Lady Legala, miss. I'm sure it's nothing more than an upset stomach, you'll see. She'll be down again in no time."
A strong arm encircled his waist, and Legolas had to restrain himself from screaming in pain. //It HURTS!!!!// he cried mentally. //Valar, it HURTS!!!//
Haldir's voice and support led him through the sea of voices and people. He walked firmly and proudly, not showing the slightest sign of pain. Only Haldir knew just how much Legolas was clinging to him for support. Step by torturous step, they walked through the revellers and out of the Hall, and soon were facing the stairs.
Legolas looked up at the three flights, and whimpered instinctively. His insides were cramping up and making it pure agony to breathe. Stairs? //Oh, Valar, no,// he wept.
He couldn't even see Haldir anymore. Now that there was no one around, Legolas let out small cries of pain and half-choked sobs as the torment worsened and became more intense.
Every muscle in his body felt as though it were knotted. Every small motion set his nerves on fire. Every single step stretched his Achilles tendon, which felt as though it were a bunch of mangled cording. His eyes were pallid and his cheeks were waxen with the terrible, agonizing deformation of his muscles.
He had nearly lost conciousness from the pain when Haldir laid him down on his own bed, and he didn't realize that he had been softly calling out Haldir's name in his delirium. But once he lay down, much of the pain went away. It was only motion that upset his tendons.
Legolas looked up at Haldir with pathetic relief. "Haldir..." he said softly, "it hurt. It hurt a lot."
Haldir stroked his hair comfortingly. "I know, Legala, I know."
Poor Haldir had no idea why, at the mention of the Princess' name, she began to cry.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The physician had a grim expression on her face as she leaned back from the comatose girl. She turned to Romul and Haldir, where they stood waiting, terse expressions on their faces.
"I may not be the Lord of Imladris, but I know poison when I see it. I can only thank god that the Princess had enough strength to walk out of the Hall without letting out that she was in pain. If anyone had found out, I can only imagine the panic it would cause."
She looked back at Legala, and frowned. "It looks to me like brithos. That's a strain of poison that feeds on the meat of muscles, sometimes shrinking them. It's used as a medicinal plant to increase blood pressure and, diluted, to clean muscles up for surgery. But this," she said, tapping one of Legala's arms, "was undiluted. Someone wanted her heart's muscles to contract and stop beating. Someone wanted her dead."
Romul looked somberly at the body of his sister. There were dozens of hollow needles buried deep in her skin, at the places where crucial muscles were located. They were injecting an antiserum to stop the action of the brithos, which, thankfully, had not reached her heart, by pouring it down the needles' insides. Later on, the healer would use her own magic to stimulate the growth of the muscles and return them to normal.
//Everyone is so damn calm about everything,// Romul growled. //They're so serene. My sister is lying there on the bed, impaled with all those tiny funnels, being stuffed to the teeth with drugs, and no one's even batting an eyelid!// Romul glared at the carpet, and twisted his hands together, wishing that the neck of whatever bastard did this was between them.
Haldir was less furious than Romul, but he still felt a lingering sense of hatred at the person who committed the poisoning. //Legala's a good person. She shouldn't have to go through this. The only reason anyone did this to her was because of her title.// He sighed, and looked over at her still form. She hadn't even blinked.
Legolas drifted in a haze of drug-induced sleep, wandering in and out of conciousness and, finally, settling in a dark place where he could think clearly apart from his body. He folded his mental legs, and frowned.
//...Why? To kill me, I suppose. And that would prevent an alliance for who knows how long. But who? The same enemy that was foolish enough to station themselves in Dimrill Dale?// A thought occured to him. He blinked. //What if they weren't foolish? What if it is an ambush waiting in that dale?//
//That server... who?// The memory came and bit him. //He was the one who- Haldir was- they were fooling around in the trysting spot! That means it could be a personal vendetta against me, to regain his love. But... Haldir. Wait. If I know one thing about Haldir, he doesn't lead people on. And he is very, very loyal. He would never leave a lover behind. That elf was not from Mirkwood. He cannot have been from Caras Galadhon. So he must have been subverted by whatever enemy we have. But we don't have any-//
//Oh//
Thoughts flew through his mind at speeds too high to be caught. One thing was clear; this enemy was obviously much more intelligent than they had first believed. Whatever was in Dimrill Dale was not as stupid as it looked.
Legolas sighed, content with that idea for the moment, and let himself drift free again. Over his head, he could her murmered voices; his brother, the healer, Haldir- but they were all so far away, he couldn't catch what they were saying. He tried to open his eyes. It did not work, and the effort hurt. He slipped back into a place of nonreality, where the shades of grey wrapped about him and bore him off to sleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Romul stood quietly by the window of his sister's room. He looked up at the healer, who was completing her examination. The healer had an odd look on her face as she leaned back into her chair, but upon seeing Romul's gaze, she quickly schooled her expression.
Her name was Larien, and she was one of the best healers the palace had. What puzzled her were two things. The first, the Princess was burning off the drugs at an abnormally high rate, and woould wake up very soon. Secondly- and this was the most shocking-
//"She" is actually a "he"!// Her hands trembled a bit as she poured the last few shots of antiserum down the needles, hoping to god that no one else knew. Unlike some of her order, she had a brain for other things than healing. If any word of this got out, the scandal would be immense. She could only thank the Valar that the Princess- Prince?- had had enough common sense to behave as though nothing was wrong while she was at the banquet.
Romul questioning looks finally made her raise her head. "Yes?"
"Why do you look so worried? What's going on?"
Larien smiled reassuringly, and lied through her teeth. "It's merely that Legala's burning up the medicine very very slowly, which I hadn't anticipated. It's nothing to worry about. It'll be a good six hours before she wakes up, so you may want to catch a bit of sleep."
Romul nodded wearily, and with a last lingering look over Legala's form, he stepped out of the door, shutting it behind him. Haldir had had the sense to realize she would not be waking up anytime soon, and so he had already left to his rooms.
Larien smiled grimly at the Princess as "she" moaned softly and began to twitch. //All right. When you wake up, my dear boy, you're going to have a lot of explaining to do.//
*****tbc*****
A/n: Next posting will be two chapters at once, o¶l0«`H Ä©ÿPACK [?]ø9ò,¼;T®685:^ [?]F0Ø&P(¬(0(r(´(Ø)z*ÀôDfG0¤*\+ªDB x[?]¶/hxNu/x0N