Author: Mirrordance
Title: For Every Evil
Summary: Legolas is a policeman in 2004. His colleagues start to wonder why the 10-yr veteran doesn't age & more trouble ahead after he runs across the Fellowship & some friends in modern incarnations, resurrected along with a new world-threatening peril.
3: Walking a Dream
Los Angeles, Early 2004
Legolas found the twin sons of Elrond seated upon a table next to a window of the hotel coffee shop where they agreed to meet. The white rays of the morning sun played with the indulgent cream lace curtains, casting the pair of elves in an even more glorious glow. They looked like a dream to him, unrealistic. He's not seen an elf in centuries.
Elladan wore his hair much shorter and less conspicuous than his twin, just a little over his shoulders. The more boldly stylish Elrohir let stray strands of his hair fall in artlessly graceful layers that framed his face while the rest he pulled back in a loose ponytail. Legolas noted with some surprise that Elrohir did not bother to conceal his elvish ears as Elladan and Legolas did, either with their hair or with these fancy and utterly lovable modern synthetic rubber pieces that concealed the pointed tips, if not the length of their elvish ears.
I am walking a dream, Legolas decided, noting that Lord Elrond's sons were garbed not in the indulgent robes he was so used to seeing them in, but in faded designer jeans and polo shirts and… and… and normal, street… things!
He stepped toward them and read from their eyes that they were immersed in similar thoughts about him. After all, he realized, he must look drastically different too. He trimmed his hair a bit, and it was as patrician and conservative as his vanity allowed, he reflected. Garbed in a subdued pair of gray slacks, a knit sweater… he laughed in surprise, almost embarrassed by what must have been a seemingly sudden change, though it was undoubtedly one that was molded by the evolution of fashions that stretched through generation after generation.
The three 'men' caught many an eye. They looked like brothers, with their noble brows and their sharp eyes and just this old, affluent, polished air that they shared.
"Detective," Elladan greeted him warmly, rising to his feet and shaking the hand of his old friend. Legolas grinned at him and turned to Elrohir.
"Ears," Legolas said simply, chuckling with some surprise.
"When people ask," the elf replied with a wink, "I tell them it's genetic. You know this new drive for political correctness keeps people from inquiring further, if they inquire at all. Sometimes, I tell people I'm a performance artist. If they get on my nerves, I have this lengthy cock and bull story about how the stratification in society compels us to listen to other people with sharper ears."
"Cock and bull story?" Legolas asked him wryly, sliding into a seat. A waiter handed him a menu and discreetly stepped away.
"Don't be a menace, Elrohir," Elladan advised his brother mildly, "You know the idealistic Detective Greene is still walking the streets with an eye toward changing the world."
"You could hardly call me a pessimist, brother," Elrohir admonished him, "I'm simply realistic. It's just unfortunate that the circumstances these two outlooks speak of are remarkably similar."
"You've sent us along a merry chase, mellon-nin," Elladan told Legolas, "It really was terrible of you not to have called upon us. How long have you been back?"
Legolas frowned in thought. He left the mortal world the year Elessar died, sailing for the elven haven of Valinor with Gimli the dwarf. The years passed slowly there, and though for awhile he found his peace, the death of Gimli and the years that followed it were fraught with restless frustrations. He never was quite as complacent as the other elves, he was just too fiery. The sea called for him to return from where it was he came, much as it called to him to get to where he already was. The wanderlusting was persistent. His fruitless wanderings about the theoretical haven and his palpable loneliness bought for him a passage back to the lands that he loved. Although it was a courtesy often not granted and hardly ever requested, he was allowed back to Middle-Earth, back into the circles of the world, that he may at last see for himself precisely where he belonged, that he may cease to wonder, that he may find his peace (or resignation…).
"I returned and it was around 1580," Legolas replied thoughtfully, "I've been busy since."
"That would be about right," Elrohir murmured.
"How did you know of my return?" Legolas asked them. The twins, unlike him, never left Middle-Earth. The face of the land changed with the ages, continents shifted, thrones changed hands, governments changed forms. Yet they remained, witnesses to the formation of life as it was presently known. Returning in the 16th century of the conventional human calendar was like running into a maelstrom. Legolas literally did not know where to find them. He did not know how to find anything! However, because he was always resilient, he made a successful life for himself.
"Elladan is in love!" Elrohir exclaimed excitedly, receiving a jab from his twin. "Oh but it's true," Elrohir continued almost obliviously, "She is just incidentally a troublemaker too."
"Not that I am disinterested," Legolas laughed, "But what does that have to do with my question?"
"It was she who found you," Elladan said gravely, handing Legolas the photographs and correspondence he borrowed from Anatalia.
Legolas stared at Elladan for a moment, his expression and tone making the Mirkwood prince frown with worry. He accepted the offerings warily, and looked down upon the papers with a measure of dread.
Elladan and Elrohir watched their old friend's face. Memories danced and shifted across his eyes as he looked through the images of what had undoubtedly been a rather colorful life.
'I do not even have any of these myself,' Legolas murmured, unconsciously slipping into his native tongue. He raised up the oldest sketch.
'I was sailing from the west and these Englishmen were sailing to the west, toward America, the New World.' he confided, 'There was a storm. I was told Manwe was not necessarily angry… just that the winds will bring me where I needed to go.' He smiled wryly, 'I was disinclined to believe, of course, after my great ship shattered. Either way, I was found by this English ship sailing to the Americas. I befriended the fatherly first mate of the ship, Mr. Bradley Davenport. He died shortly afterward… a skirmish with one of the less friendly tribes in the New World. His dying breath was spent asking me to look after his family. I was pressed to say yes, of course, though he could not have known that to me it meant more than a lifetime of service to keep my word.'
Legolas placed the photograph down. 'He was a good man. All his family was, as if honor, nobility and greatness were hereditary. I cannot deem my time wasted serving and protecting them.'
Elrohir peered at the Mirkwood elf. Naturally there was sadness. Curiously, there was some guilt too.
'My duties ended with the deaths of the last heirs,' Legolas said with a wince, 'I could not have been there. The wars took us different ways. I had no control over assignments of course, and I could only tell myself that as long as I served in the same war that the Davenports were fighting, I ultimately still do redeem my word. They were survived by a woman named Francine. I left England after she died.'
'And here you are,' Elrohir said wistfully.
"Here we all are," Legolas smiled, shifting back to Westron.
"Indeed," Elladan agreed, looking at Legolas closely, "You look well, mellon-nin. It is so good to see a familiar face that is not Elrohir's."
"Now tell me about this woman," Legolas said with shining eyes, "She must be quite the prize to have lured you from your quiet lives."
"She's Italian," Elrohir answered for his brother, "With this fantastic accent, I'm sure. I'm also certain she's a gem even if I've not yet met her because Elladan won't let me come near her. You know how it is, he's very afraid she'd prefer me."
"No," Elladan laughed, "I'm afraid she'd want to steer clear away from me after she's met my only family."
The exchange was interrupted by the sound of a ringing cell phone. Both Legolas and Elladan fished for theirs from within their pockets, but Elrohir sat calmly and waited for the best time to strike…
His quick hands lashed out just as Elladan drew out his mobile, and he answered the call for his brother.
Legolas chuckled and pocketed his phone. Elladan shook his head in dismay and told the Mirkwood elf that obviously, his delinquent brother's been so bored with his years that he's devised all sorts of ridiculous activities to keep himself occupied.
"Hello," Elrohir greeted, his eyes lighting up, "Ana, is it?... No, this is his brother… ummhmm…" he raised his eyebrow at Elladan, "Oh he didn't tell you, did he? Well I'd keep him a secret too if I could."
'Give me that,' Elladan grabbed the cell phone and excused himself, rising from the table hurriedly. Elrohir looked after him with amusement.
"I wouldn't take offense," Legolas advised the Rivendell elf, "Elladan was merely protecting you by not exposing you as he was exposing himself."
Elrohir shrugged, "I'm hardly offended, mellon-nin. She sounded so, however. You know what they say… if a man was thinking in the long-run with you, toward a serious life together, he introduces you to his family, he keeps no secrets… all these Doctor Phil stuff. She is profoundly displeased that he keeps such things from her."
"Things were never this complicated," Legolas said with a slight smile. Elrohir watched him wryly as the Mirkwood prince motioned for a waiter and ordered what was, for all intents and purposes, a cup of over-glorified coffee hidden beneath a mouthful of words like latte, low-fat, with a twist of this and that and decaffeinated too…
"So," Legolas said, looking at his old friend, "You found me. What are your plans?"
Elrohir shrugged. "Nothing really. It
was just a curious, irresistible thing.
And I'd advise you to keep a lower profile, mellon-nin."
He winced, "Elladan's lady love plans to write a
book."
"Is he ever to tell her the truth?" Legolas asked.
"He's testing the waters," Elrohir replied, "He's already taken her to Imladris. I suppose just now I forced him into the next step, that is, to know me. If she is all that my brother could love, I believe we can count on her discretion if he ever does get around to telling her the truth."
"Imladris still stands?" Legolas asked, his brows rising.
"Yes," Elrohir answered with pleasure, "Much diminished, I guarantee you. All these real estate laws, the wars… The land is lesser, but then again there is less of us to occupy it. You must visit. The main house is virtually untouched, although… I could not resist a television set."
Legolas smiled, delighted at the idea of things that have been left roughly unchanged in the old paradise of his younger years. "I think I will visit, one of these days."
"It's in Vienna," Elrohir informed him, "the face of the land's changed."
"I know," Legolas said, pausing before he asked, "Elrohir… do you ever think of sailing away?"
"Of
course," the Rivendell elf replied, "Not a day goes
by that I do not. 'Tis
still an option open to us, for sure.
There's old literature in Rivendell of
building these fantastic ships to bear us away.
And now… there's you too; you've made a few. But I find I still hesitate."
"So do I," Legolas
admitted quietly, "A strange feeling holds me here, though I often wonder if I
am just being stubborn. Perhaps I refuse
to grow up. Or perhaps there really is a
destiny that binds me here."
Elrohir rubbed at his chin, narrowing his eyes in thought. "There are still some answers that you seek."
"Naturally," Legolas said haltingly, wondering where this was leading.
"Would you want to know what became of Estel's line?" Elrohir asked him.
"It's why you stayed," Legolas concluded after a moment of thought. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know… when he returned, he heard of no such great kingdom of Gondor, or Arnor. It was a line that faded into dim legend, as if their deeds and who they were were trivial and not worthy of remembrance. It hurt to see things in this light.
"Yes," Elrohir replied, "His heirs and descendants numbered greatly. Though governments have changed with the times, the line survives. Scattered all across Europe, some even migrated to America. Untraceable by now, of course, but the line is not lost. His blood still runs in this Earth. I suspect it always will."
"Hm," Legolas said sadly, averting his eyes and watching Elladan walk back toward them, masking his sadness with his wry tone, "We never could be rid of him."
"You're giving me unnecessary problems," Elladan said to his brother as he reclaimed his seat. As if I didn't have enough…
The waiter arrived with Legolas' fare and the elf prince smiled with the scent of the coffee.
'How fares our family in Valinor?' Elladan asked Legolas.
'My news is much outdated, mind,' Legolas replied with a smile, 'But they were doing well. Lord Elrond and Lady Celebrian were still overjoyed with their reunion, even if I arrived years after the fact.'
'Do they not miss us at all?' Elrohir asked with mock offense, though he amended his tone and added, 'I am vastly relieved, I must admit. It is good that they are happy. The temptation to follow soon and see this family together once again is even greater now. But it will make ada miss Arwen more, won't it?'
'We'll all be together again, someday,' Elladan said wistfully.
'Someday,' Legolas echoed, 'Does it not sound so distant? Hopeful, but distant. And vague.'
'Sounds like something Estel would say,' Elrohir added.
For some reason, Elladan's cheeks flushed. "You mean it sounds vague?"
"Yes," Legolas replied, "Why?"
"Would women think so as well?" he asked.
"They knew long before we did," Elrohir replied wryly, "What in the world did you say to her?"
"She asked when she could meet you," Elladan answered, "I said, 'soon.' She said her father wishes to meet me. I said…"
"Someday," Legolas concluded with a laugh.
"I won't have a sister-in-law until the next century," Elrohir sighed melodramatically, "You know, brother, the edain don't have lives as long as ours! You really must get a move on."
"What in the world could one say to that? Meet her parents!" Elladan pointed out.
"I would have said," Elrohir replied jauntily, "'Yes of course, I'd be delighted to meet your family! As soon as I return from America.' And then return after three or four years."
TO BE CONTINUED…
Thanks to all who read and to my reviewers: Cotume, Idle Mind, Nikki1, Starlit Hope, Tychen (actually, I decided not to go into detail with the medical stuff 'cos I don't know much about it, haha. And the Davenports are just catalysts right now, unless some weird inspiration strikes me :)), Elessar-Lover, Silvertongue, dd9736, Pethron, ShadowHeart 6, Stoneage Woman, Aranna Undomiel, Star-Stallion, Tsurugi-chan, Barbara Kennedy, elfchic02, Lady of the Twilight Woods, Elliroc, Jule, dragonfly, Lady Eleclya, InkaCaijo, Ainu Laire, Lady Laswen, Platy, Templa Otmena, hyper-health-critic, LOTRFaith, Rae132, Deana and Joee1.
Next post will be two chapters, and watch out for the return of a much-beloved king…
'TIL THEN!!!