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.

7: Homecomings

Imladris

Viennna, Austria

Mid-2004

The clever BMW careened past the gates of the Rivendell estate. It was a disconcerting thing, to say the least, and Elrohir watched Legolas' face with an impish grin.

"Oh what did you expect, mellon-nin?" he asked, "I was to pick you up from the airport on a horse?"

Legolas smiled at the Rivendell elf. "The only thing that remained the same is you still drive like a crazy person."

"Aye," Elrohir laughed, "There is that."

Elrohir parked the car in front of the main doors. He often went straight for the opulent garage to the back of the main house, but his flair for the dramatic wanted to welcome Legolas back to Imladris with aplomb.

'It is mostly the same,' Legolas breathed in Elvish, 'You are sure you have television inside?'

'Yes,' Elrohir laughed, 'And electricity. And good plumbing. And computers and things. Come now, Legolas. Elves have always been at the cutting edge of technology, after all.'

'It's just that it's a whole other life altogether,' Legolas apologized, 'I'm sorry. I'm acting like that country mouse cousin, if you know what I mean.'

They left the car where it stood, and an Imladris majordomo's eyes lit up at the sight of Legolas. The Mirkwood prince did not recognize this elf, but he was very much known to the majordomo, who bowed low, murmuring, 'My lord.'

Elrohir gave the car keys for the elf to park the vehicle. In a low voice he said to Legolas, 'Oh he is hungry for company that is not me and Elladan, isn't he?'

'I do not remember him,' Legolas said, watching the elderly elf walk away.

'He is Halvor,' Elrohir said, 'and was not of the House in your heydays here. He is a manservant/valet/guardian/moral guide ada left us with. A bit of a stickler for the rules, you could say."

'He is charged with looking after you pair of fools and the upkeep of the estate?' Legolas asked, impressed.

'He has aid, of course,' Elrohir said wryly, 'He has a very discreet team of servants. You give him too much credit, prince Legolas. He'd be barely done with cleaning or mowing a tenth of the property before the part he began with starts growing again. We've grown smaller, but Imladris is not that small.'

'He seems a bit… strange,' Legolas said diplomatically.

'He lived old-style like,' Elrohir replied, 'which is why he's going to be bowing down low every time he catches sight of you. I think he misses the older days, the grander days. At times I find I feel the same. But I like my life too.'

'As we all should,' Legolas smiled, 'You know I look about Imladris, and I wonder what has become of my own home.'

'Your realm was too large, prince,' Elrohir told him gently, 'It was divided into several kingdoms and states. The land's changed and shifted. Your kingdom now lies far north. You will find these to be the most competitive states in the world. In the GDP, per capita income sense.'

'It hurts to return sometimes,' Legolas reflected, 'But it is just as well. I was not counting in that my land remained mine; this world is no longer ours, I've yielded my rights long ago. I suppose I just… wondered. It's good that the land's fared well.'

'We've all fared well, eh?' Elrohir smirked.

'Yes,' Legolas smiled, and nodded. 'Fate's been extraordinarily kind.'

" " "

Legolas stared at the PS2 sitting on the floor, right above an opulent, hand-woven, well-preserved and ages-old elvish carpet. Beside it was a can of Coke light. The irreverence was making his skin crawl.

"It's just a toy, fool," Elrohir laughed, "Come on, you'd have fun. What the hell else do you do with your life, Legolas?"

"I work," the Mirkwood elf said wryly, "I've been working all my life, I think. I've been a soldier in all the wars the Davenports managed to get themselves into, and now a cop. I do not have a PS2, mellon-nin, I have a desk and a whole lot of sheaves of papers. What have you been doing all these years?"

"Taking care of the estate, of course," Elrohir replied, "Upkeep costs money, you know. Luckily, the principal of our placements is so high we need just a fraction of the interests to pay for taxes, electricity, water, vices, et cetera. But the investments still always have to be watched. Lots of clever white-collar criminals, nowadays, you know. The last war I saw, I was in the underground resistance. All my affairs have been more… administrative since."

The pair of elves sat side by side before the entertainment system. Legolas mused that the lessons of the years regarding money was one that he too had a tight grasp of. The upscale condominium in Los Angeles was a testament to that-- not exactly in the pay-scale of a detective.

"Wanna watch a movie?" Elrohir asked him.

Legolas smiled wide; hearing those words in his native tongue was a curious experience. But movies he sincerely enjoyed. He remembered the first time he had ever seen one. Silent films in black and white. And then talkies. And the full-color musicals. And it went bigger and wider and better and grander. He remembered how the scale of the Titanic left him breathless in the spaces when the script did not make him feel awkward. Or seeing The Matrix and seeing all these people on Hong Kong wires floating in the air. The idea of… of… catching reality, and, and time itself in a box… if he had a video camera in the days that he considered his best… to look back and see old friends over and over…

"I've not seen one in awhile," he said gamely, "What do you have?"

" " "

They watched three; elves adored good art and beautiful things and things that lasted forever. Legolas supposed Elrohir found as much affinity for time-in-a-box as he did. And then they watched one of those audacious late night shows on cable. Leno was a very clever fellow. Amusing. What was more amusing though, that very likely, cables and satellites sat atop Imladris' winged roofs…

Dinner was served in the recreation room, and thereafter Halvor they excused for the evening. Legolas had butter popcorn all the way to his ears, but while he left Elrohir to his soda-addiction, he settled for bottles of Perrier. Beer was almost a sacrilegious vice, it being that they were in Imladris, but it was offered and denied, after a moment of thought. Elrohir stared at the prince, surprised he even considered it.

"I get enough flak in the station for this accent, mellon-nin," Legolas laughed, "Can you see me in a bar with the boys asking for Perrier? Beer is an acquired taste."

"Beer," Elrohir said thoughtfully, "A bar… oh Legolas. If Estel could see you now… Lining up in a Starbucks too, I bet. Or eating donuts and burgers and things. Do you drive a car?"

"Yes," Legolas answered, "I have a very sensible Toyota, my friend. A BMW would not have been very becoming for a fellow in my profession."

"Speaking of cars," Elrohir said, rising and dusting salt from his clothes, "I think I hear Elladan's in the drive. About time, if you ask me. He's been in Italy for weeks."

Legolas rose too, stretching as he did. A curious look played about his face and Elrohir looked at him suspiciously.

"Beat you to the door!" Legolas said breathlessly, immediately taking the lead in a run.

"You cheat!" Elrohir laughed as he followed, "Oh, you spoiled brat prince, you're going to pay!"

"Less talk and more speed to catch up, Elrohir!" Legolas called over his shoulder, as his long legs practically flew over the corridors and stairs. If anything, his years as a soldier and cop made his strides wider and faster. But Elrohir was not discouraged. This was still his house, after all, and he knew all the short-cuts.

He turned a sharp left into a broom closet with some secret steps. Legolas heard him and exclaimed, "That is unfair!" He heard Elrohir's laughter drift away, and he speeded up even more.

He reached the foot of the winding main stairs to the receiving hall at the same time Elrohir burst from a secret passage behind a swiveling painting. They reached the main doors at the same instant, and stepped back as it was swung open by the new arrival…

Racing elves gawked at the sight of Elladan and Anatalia Craxi, whose intense eyes were fixed on the haunting ghost of tens of photographs taken hundreds upon hundreds of years ago.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Guys, thanks so much for the wildly encouraging reviews. I tried to post, really I did and I feel so bad that I'm taking so long. I'm up to chapter 19 in this thing; I'm really working it's just that my internet's shot. It's fixed at last and I am now, after seemingly an eternity, BACK!!! I'll thank all my reviewers in the next post. I'm just very eager to show you what I've done with the piece, and I also know I've been making you wait long enough. I'm really sorry.

Please keep the reviews coming if you can, they give me fire :) I'll make up for the delay with three chapters this post :) 'TIL CHAPTER TEN then!!! :)