CHAPTER FIVE – 'Off the Mark'
Everything seemed to have gone back to normal after Lehramie had gone, except for those who truly cared for him. Ever watchful, Thranduil had kept his eyes on his son, growing ever more protective of the Prince.
Meanwhile, Legolas went on as before. Only, he seemed to grow more passionate about training with the bow and the knife. He would spend endless hours on the grounds, not stopping training even when the others had paused to rest or ended their session for the day. Although he remained polite and cheerful towards everyone, one could sense the deep melancholy in him, as one whom had a part of him wrenched away so ruthlessly.
In the eyes of those around the Prince, he seemed to have grown abruptly and too soon, with only the slightest hint that once he was once a child full of mischief, pulling foolish pranks and causing quite some stir within Greenwood the Great. He became noticeably more somber, almost always immersed in a pool of thoughts that everyone was hesitant to pull him out of.
Nothing had changed between him and the King. More than ever they grew closer, if only for the mere fact that they alone were able to fully comprehend the anguish the other was still going through.
Instead what became evident to everyone was the distance Reeneal had kept from everyone, including her brother Feniel and Legolas. Particularly Legolas.
It brought a great sadness, especially for the King, to see his children under such strain, but there are certain things that one, not even the Elvenking, could take into his hands and have full control over. And so he let it lie...hoping for the day to come that the bitter memory of Lehramie's departure would be forgotten. Or at the very least, its torment eased.
The same hope lingered within the young Prince, as he tirelessly made attempts to reach Reeneal, who had withdrawn into a dark place where she alone could hide, untouchable, utterly remote. She seemed too oblivious to everyone that she did not even have the slightest awareness of how she was making every waking morn almost unbearable for the Prince. Still, he held on, hoping...
But it was not to be.
As this inner turmoil raged, outside, rumours of the Dark Lord taking his seat in Dol Guldur in Southern Greenwood took its toll on the elves. Long-buried fears of the past played on the minds of the Woodland elves, causing them to strengthen their borders, making sure not to let any of the unfamiliar cross into their homeland. The Prince became one of those who took to the front lines, going to the borders, gathering news and bringing it before the King.
Only, a greater part of him wanted to find any small shred of information he could get of what had become of Lehramie. But there was not the slightest whisper that Lehramie had even dared venture near the borders.
And on the sixty-seventh year after Lehramie's leave-taking, Reeneal spoke her first words to Legolas.
The Prince was in his rooms, preparing for another expedition into the woods. Frustration welled deep within him, as it always had these past few years when he remembers his brother. They had received word of wargs camping on the eastern border, and the desire to slay some of those vile creatures overcame him so suddenly he wanted – no, he NEEDED – to get out of the confines of the palace.
There she stood, heartbreakingly sullen, looking at him with the saddest green eyes. Legolas could not help but smile a little, delighted that she should at last speak with him.
"If I may have a moment..." her voice trailed.
Remembering his manners, Legolas bade her into his chambers and offered a seat, which she declined with a small shake of her head. Instead she moved to the window and looked out into the tall trees outside the palace.
Legolas silently observed Reeneal, noting the pale skin, her bony frame. She had become thinner every day, despite her almost successful efforts to hide it with the clothes that she wore. He'd say almost, since the illusion had never worked on him.
"I wanted you to be the first to know," she began, not looking at him, "after the King, of course."
"Know what?" he asked.
"I am leaving these shores. For Valinor," she replied, turning around to meet Legolas' dazed look.
Her words were not at all what he expected, or hoped to hear. He shook his head, smiling nervously. "Surely, you jest."
A sad smile crossed her face. "The ship leaves tonight."
Without him being aware of it, Legolas was wringing his hands, still shaking his head. "No, you are just saying this to punish me, and I have to hand it over to you, you are doing it quite nicely--"
"Not punishment, Legolas," she said softly, "never punishment." When her eyes began to brim with tears, the Prince finally realized she was telling the truth.
Reeneal went on. "I had hoped...oh, how I hoped! That one day I would wake up and find him home, with us. A thousand times I was told he was never coming back, and a million times I said no, I shall see him again, and we shall be together."
Legolas probed deeply into her eyes, seeing nothing there but sincerity. "But how do you believe that will come to pass if you leave?"
"I will leave, Legolas. Nothing would stop me," Reeneal declared with conviction. "If I could not be with him here and now, then I shall wait for him in the only place where I could feel peace. That is why I came to you, for I know you alone could help me."
"Help?"
Moving closer to the Prince, she said, "They keep saying he might be dead, but in my heart I know he lives still. I ask that when you find him, and you get to talk, tell him I am waiting."
"What makes you believe I shall find him?" he asked quietly.
"Oh, you will. Do you think I know nothing of your quest to know where he is, how he is? Believe me, I know." She paused. "Promise me, cousin."
The word 'cousin' bit into him and he smiled joyously. "If that would make you happy, then I swear."
She paused, and to his surprise she reached up and touched the side of his face with shaky fingers. "It was such agony to behold you and be reminded..." Her hand fell away. "I never hated you, cousin. Bitter, yes. But if I had, in any way, made you feel like you were being punished, forgive me. I turned away those times for it was hard to gaze upon you and not think of him...and wish."
Silent understanding passed between them as Legolas nodded. "I believe you have to say your farewell to Feniel, then. I reckon he would not be too happy to hear it."
Reeneal gave a slight shrug and stepped away from him. Halfway to the door she halted, as if she had just though of something.
"Do you remember the day when we met outside...his chambers?" Legolas noticed her slight hesitation to mention Lehramie's name, but chose not remark on it.
He nodded, harking back to that day and remembering the anguished look she had given him. "Why?"
"That was the last time I spoke with him. It seemed a long time ago but I remember it all too vividly for it was the only time he truly talked with me. He spoke of things..."
His interest awakened, Legolas asked, "What things?"
"At one point during our conversation, he began to babble, and the way he spoke...I do not think I have seen him so passionate about what he was saying. For a moment it seemed he forgot I was there." She shook her head, bewildered. "At first I did not fully grasp the meaning of his muddled words."
"What did he say?" he asked again.
Reeneal looked at her cousin. "He was hurt, that you, of all people, should doubt him. That you actually believed..." She breathed, as if telling him these things took a lot of effort. "He thought he knew you, he said, and that you knew him."
Weakly, Legolas sank down on the edge of the large bed, contemplating her words. "He said that..." he whispered, not knowing what to think. "And what do you think?" he asked in a small voice.
"Does it matter?" she asked back. "At that moment, I only had one thought in mind. He was innocent. And to this day I still hold to that. He is innocent, Legolas."
"But I saw--"
"Even the keenest eyes could be deceived, cousin. Even the wisest could be fooled."
The Prince sensed, more than heard, her progress to the door. He heard the door open and waited for it to click shut behind her but she spoke again.
"And he said another thing. I am not quite sure what it meant, but you might." When he didn't speak, she continued. "He said that if he truly wanted to kill Gleofur, he would have made it count, not too far off the mark."
Minutes after she had left, Legolas still sat there, going over her words. He could not quite figure out what it meant, either. Yet he had the uncanny feeling that somehow he should.
The frustration once again built up in him. Grabbing his weapons he left his rooms and went straight to the stables, where he found Feniel speaking with a stable boy.
Feniel seemed baffled at the grim look on his cousin's face. "Where are you going?"
Legolas leapt into the back of the beast. "I am slaying myself some warg," he replied darkly and sent his horse into a gallop, leaving a bewildered Feniel behind.
In the northeast, beyond Erebor, on the foothills near the Iron Mountains, a lone figure stood, trying to discern the peaks of the Mountains of Mirkwood.
Mirkwood. That was its name now. Somehow the new name awoke in him a sense of the inevitable. It was his home no longer. Greenwood the Great was now a thing of the past. And so was he.
Maybe one day he would behold it again, smell the air around it, feel the ground. Or maybe not.
He had heard about all the events that had beset those once-hallowed woods. Now and again his keen eyes and ears would note the foul things entering its borders. A somewhat smug smile appeared on his face.
Turning away, he made his way back. Back to his real home...among those who he least expected to be with.
Legolas was in a crouch, trying to detect where the warg had hidden. He did not think he would be so lucky, spotting the foul beast so easily when he burst into the glade. It had been feasting on the flesh of a deer that made the mistake of crossing its path. When it spotted Legolas, it broke away and dove straight into one of the tall brushes.
Although it seemed a bit strange that the warg should run away from its enemy - and a potential meal at that - Legolas threw all reason and went to the task of tracking it down.
The Prince was sure the warg was not completely without nerve, despite its initial reaction of hiding. It was around here somewhere, waiting for its chance to attack him. Well, too bad, he thought, and took out one of his knives.
The sound of a horse's hooves came from behind and Legolas made the mistake of turning his head to see who rides his way. When he heard Feniel call out his name in alarm, he realized his blunder too late.
He was thrown bodily on the ground, flat on his stomach. A cry issued out of him as he felt sharp fangs bite into his arm, and to his dismay the knife was flicked off his hand.
"Legolas!" Feniel called out, and from the corner of his eye Legolas glimpsed Feniel having a hard time focusing his aim at the beast that now had its full weight on top of the Prince, its teeth still fully embedded into the arm.
Icy cold water seemed to wash over Legolas as realization hit him from out of nowhere, striking him hard. Suddenly the fangs biting deep into his arm seemed insignificant, the weight of the warg pinning him down unimportant. Feniel was obviously having trouble training his arrow on the beast. Reeneal's words came to him like a clap of thunder.
Not far off the mark...
He was not sure where he got the strength, but with an unexpected burst of will he heaved himself up, throwing the beast off his back. With lightning speed he jumped to his feet and took a step back, giving Feniel a wider angle to take aim.
The arrow shot through the warg's lower back, wrenching a chilling cry from the beast. The pain on his bleeding arm completely forgotten, Legolas reached for his bow and delivered the final shot right between the warg's eyes.
He watched distastefully as the warg fell on its back, lifeless.
Feniel was beside him in an instant, breathing hard. "You are bleeding. Are you all right?"
Legolas could not take his eyes off the dead beast, not really hearing Feniel. "Now I know," he said softly.
"Know what?"
Legolas looked up at Feniel, his eyes bright with a sudden discovery. "I do not know how it happened," he said, "but Lehramie did not kill Gleofur!"
Feniel looked completely surprised. "What are you saying?"
Legolas was shaking his head, having a sudden desire to laugh out loud. "Lehramie did not mean to kill him! Gleofur died, yes, but Lehramie had no intent whatsoever!" He paced around the glade, acting as though the encounter with the warg earlier had not ever occurred. "I see it now. When I saw you aim for the warg, it hit me. Out of the blue, it hit me."
Feniel was looking at him with such a baffled expression on his face, as though the Prince was out of his mind.
"Don't you see, Feniel? If Lehramie had truly wanted to kill Gleofur, why would he hit him on the shoulder? Why not aim for the heart? Or the head?"
"Perhaps he missed," Feniel remarked, but Legolas was shaking his head vigorously.
"No," he said. "You forget, Feniel. Lehramie never misses."