Author's Note: More angst and anguish!
DISCLAIMER: JRR Tolkien, The Tolkien Family, New Line Cinema, Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Phillipa Boyens own this stuff. I don't. I am only borrowing the universe because it's so much fun! I am making no money from this.
Please read and review.
Encroaching Darkness by Ecri
Part 6
Legolas had never walked through any realm of Middle-earth and felt so cut off from it. Staying in Rivendell all winter had given him time, or so he'd thought, to adjust to hishumanity. He had thought, once he had learned to move in a more human way from Aragorn, that he would be well able to handle the road to Lothlorien with little trouble. He had not counted on the aching absence of the Song. He had not thought the loss of his skills and senses would be so hard to bear beneath blue skies.
Aglarelen rode next to him, casting sideways glances at his youngest brother, gauging his health and his spirits. Not liking the melancholy that seemed to settle over Legolas, Aglarelen broke the uneasy silence. "My brother, you should speak to me of your worries."
Legolas allowed himself a grim smile. "You know my worries, and I fear giving voice to them may make them all the more real to me. That I do not need."
"No, I suppose you don't. I am here to help, Legolas. Tell me what I can do."
"There is naught I can think of. Your presence alone gives me comfort." He halted his horse's easy canter and his brother drew to a stop beside him. "I am glad that you have come."
Aglarelen offered his brother a comforting smile. "As am I, my brother."
The two continued on, trailing after Glorfindel and Elrond who were deep in conversation. Glorfindel, having known Elrond for countless years, studied the Elven Lord carefully.
"You fear for the Prince."
Elrond's mouth was fixed in a grim line. "I worry for him, certainly. I still believe this is our only course, but if Galadriel and Celeborn cannot help him" he trailed off for a moment allowing the horrible scenario he had described to play out in his mind. Shaking his head, he continued. "I cannot tell what that would do to him. I cannot tell if he would be permitted the solace of Valinor or the Halls of Mandos if he remains mortal, or if he would share in the fate of the line of Elros."
Glorfindel looked shaken by this revelation. "You think that likely?"
"I do not know. It is certainly possible." He spared a glance behind him towards the two princes of Mirkwood. "I am afraid there is little we can do until we reach Lothlorien. Even speculation at this point will yield no inspiration."
Glorfindel followed Elrond's gaze taking in Aglarelen and Legolas and their attempts to bolster their own spirits. He offered a silent prayer that the Valar be with Legolas and the rest of their company.
**
The party had traveled for several weeks without incident, their swift elven horses eating up the distance between Rivendell and Lothlorien. They were barely halfway there, however, and Elrond's senses warned him their road would not continue as easily as it had started.
He drew to a halt, his eyes scanning the area looking for a threat only an elf could sense. Glorfindel and Aglarelen followed suit. Elladan and Elrohir were scouting ahead. Legolas, trailing behind Elrond with Estel seemed confused by the sudden halt, and, seeing his companion searching their surroundings, hands on sword hilts and quivers, he cast a nervous glance in Estel's direction. Estel shrugged indicating he had heard nothing.
Legolas' eyes searched for threats as well, but he found nothing. Uncomfortable with this lapse, accustomed as he was to having the sharpest senses and the earliest hint of danger, he struggled with his own frustration. Estel, knowing his own instincts were less swift than those of the elves with whom he traveled, drew his sword and waited. Legolas, following his lead, drew an arrow from his quiver and nocked it, moving it from point to point hoping to acquire a target.
Just then, Elladan and Elrohir broke through the brush before them, weapons drawn. Seeing the company at the ready, they called out their warning. "Orcs!"
To Legolas' embarrassment, his companions, as though planning it all along, maneuvered their steeds and formed a crude circle around him keeping him from immediate harm. Fighting back the feeling that they did not trust him, he waited patiently for a target. Even with diminished senses, he was the first to bring down an Orc, felling one of the foul creatures as it raised a sword in preparation of striking Elladan from behind.
Glorfindel urged his horse forward, allowing Elladan to take his place in the circle protecting Legolas. The warrior raised his sword high and screamed loudly. "Gurth an glamhoth!" (Death to the din-hord!)
The first line of orcs faltered slightly, but recovered quickly. Soon the entire company was engaged in a fierce fight against the foul creatures.
Aragorn ran through one orc moments before it would have grievously injured Elrond. The elf nodded in gratitude and continued his own battle. Aragorn swung around again and saw Aglarelen besieged by three orcs wildly meeting their attack, though it was quickly becoming difficult for him as half his attention lingered on his brother, who had leaped from his horse to attack one of the three from behind.
Algarelen, fearing for Legolas' life, was not paying enough heed to the other two orcs. One drew a knife and slashed forward catching Aglarelen's right forearm as the elf drew back his sword to lunge at the orc occupying his brother. Hissing at the sudden, unexpected pain, he turned to hack at the one who had injured him only to find Aragorn standing over its dead body and engaging the third orc already.
It was when Aragorn drew back his arm to deal the orc a fatal blow that he felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder.
"Estel!" Legolas yelled and raced to his friend, who had tumbled from his horse with the force of the orc arrow that had struck his shoulder.
Legolas killed the orc who had struck his friend, and stood before the human and the enraged remaining creatures as they tried to move in for the killing blow. Slowly, Aragorn got to his feet, winded by the blow from the arrow. He seized the arrowhead, snapped it off, and pulled the shaft from his body ignoring the pain.
Aglarelen, finding himself unmolested, dismounted and stood at his Aragorn's and Legolas' side. The trio faced the approaching monsters determined to hold them off or run them through. As Aglarelen and Aragorn traded sword blows with the creatures, Legolas found he had the room to draw his bow. Nocking arrow after arrow, he let them fly at their adversaries, not even taking notice of the elven accuracy with which they flew.
Pleased with his success, he took advantage of a brief respite to turn to Aragorn and Aglarelen, only to find both in serious combat with two of the largest orcs he'd yet seen. Nocking another arrow, he let it fly, seeing it lodge itself in the neck of the orc fighting Algarelen.
Turning then to Aragorn, he was horrified to see the orc the human fought drawing back his sword, which he held in a one-handed grip, to strike at the Numenorean. As Aragorn moved his own sword to block the blow, the orc drew a knife with its free hand and buried it up to its hilt in the human's stomach. Aragorn's face showed his surprise as his sword slipped from his hand, and he crumpled to the ground.
Glorfindel, in the meantime, had killed several orcs, but was now faced with two large, fierce creatures. One approached him from behind and the other from in front. Glorfindel struggled to keep both in view, but, more cunning than most of their kind, they continually stepped with him, keeping him between them.
Unable to fight both, he attacked the one before him, and was soon covered in foul black orc blood. Turning in wonderment at the fact that the second orc had not attacked, he saw Elrond, cleaning his sword on the dead thing's clothes.
Glorfindel glanced to his right and saw Elladan assisting Elrohir out of a bind. Turning to his left, he saw a sight that froze his blood. "Elrond! It is Estel!" He pointed, and Elrond broke into a run seeing his youngest son lying in the grass unmoving, an orc leaning over him even as Aglarelen and Legolas engaged the creature and several other orcs who had run to the large one's side. Reaching the younger elves, he added his own strength to their blows, sparing a brief look at Glorfindel when his friend joined them.
In moments it was over, the orcs either dead or running. Elrond wasted no time falling to his son's side. "Estel?"
Aragorn opened his eyes as his father gently rolled him over so he faced upwards. "Ada"
Elrond cut him off with a wave of his hand as he laid his hand on the hilt of the sword that still protruded from his son's belly. He waved Glorfindel over, and the elf held Aragorn still while Elrond quickly tore the blade from Aragorn's body.
Aragorn let out a low moan as the pain hit him, though he was still and silent while Elrond treated and wrapped the wound.
Legolas stepped forward then, crouching by the elf lord, concern all over his face. "Estel was hit by an arrow in his right shoulder. I do not know if it held poison."
Gravely, Elrond nodded and inspected the wound relieved when he saw no sign of poison. Wrapping that wound as well, he then carefully wiped the sweat from his son's brow with water Glorfindel had supplied to him. Aragorn struggled to rise. "Ada"
"Be still, my son. You are wounded."
Aragorn wanted to protest, but could not.
Glorfindel knelt at Elrond's side. "Is he well?"
Elrond hesitated, but spoke in low tones. "He has lost much blood, but there is no sign of poison."
"Can he ride? We should mount and move on. The orcs may return in greater number and it would be well if we could be far from here by the time they do."
Elrond nodded, standing. He would have preferred Aragorn have a bit of time to heal, but he saw the wisdom in his friend's words. He looked for further injury among the others. Legolas, Elrohir, Elladan, and Glorfindel were well, but Aglarelen was bleeding from a wound on his arm. Elrond gestured for him to sit while he cleaned, treated and wrapped that wound as well.
Once that was done, he looked them over. "We have far to go, and Glorfindel is right. We cannot stay here. Come. We ride."
The others nodded, and mounting their steeds, waited for Glorfindel and Elrond to help Aragorn onto his own horse. As Elrond released his son's hands, Aragorn held on tightly. "Ada"
"What is it, Estel?"
"You must tie my hands to my saddle."
Elrond recoiled as if the request had been a physical blow. "Nay, Estel"
"Ada, we must ride hard, and I fear I lack the strength. My head pounds now with the effort of remaining upright." He gestured to his horse. "You have no need to fear for Rian will not allow me to be hurt, but I cannot stay mounted without assistance."
Elrond wanted to argue, but knew they wasted time. The orcs may have found reinforcements by now. Giving his son a nod, he reached for some rope Aragorn stored in his saddlebags. Carefully, he tied his son's hands to the pommel of his saddle. Neither too loose nor too tight, the rope kept the human upright, yet did not cut into his flesh. When he'd finished, Elrond looked into his son's eyes and placed a hand on his knee briefly before turning to his own mount.
Soon, the company rode swiftly in the direction of Caras Galadon.
**
The Great Eye watched as his orcs retreated from the elves and the human who could well spell his doom. Anger and frustration stirred his wrath. He would have to find other ways to deal with these Firstborn who would aid the human. He considered what evil was at his disposal, and slowly a plan began to form.
Elation that his schemes had not yet come to naught, Sauron called to his minions. He would strike hard and he would strike soon.
**
The blue skies above Lothlorien spoke clearly to the hearts of the elves who lived there, yet one elf saw things no other could. Galadriel, Lady of the Wood, had stared into her mirror earlier that day and had found only disturbing images.
The Great Eye, the fall of Numenor, the Last Great Alliancethe mirror seemed to show the past in all its most horrifying moments. Then, the images had shifted. She saw Mithrandir on horseback moving swiftly through some country she could not identify, though whether because it was far from her realm, of the Mirror did not reveal enough details she could not tell. She saw his face, concerned and scowling, and knew something troubled him.
She saw Mirkwood then, King Thranduil upon his throne looking distracted.
Then she saw Elrond, her daughter's husband dressed in traveling clothes rather than the robes he wore in the Last Homely House. A fierce look darkened his countenance as Elrond slew orcs and moved to protect one he loved.
The images had ceased then, and no more could she learn. She would try again later, and she would increase her border guards giving them strict orders to escort Elrond or Mithrandir to her immediately should they arrive. Her border guards were accustomed to such orders and did not find them amiss.
Celeborn came to her side then, looking out over Caras Galadon with her from this, the highest of their flets. "My love, what troubles you?"
Galadriel kept staring out over the vast expanse of land before them, not even aware that she looked in the direction of Imladris. "Some great evil is at work again. A Shadow grows and covers the space between us and our closest kin."
Celeborn liked not the sound of those words. "What have you seen?"
Galadriel hesitated for several moments before replying. "Not enough."
**
The company rode hard and fast until well past sunset. Then, out of necessity, they called a halt. Aragorn needed rest and water, as did the horses or they would not last another day.
Legolas assisted in the making of camp, but it was only when they were all seated around the campfire, Elrond tending again to Aragorn's wounds, that he felt ready to speak to his brother.
Aglarelen sat near him, and though he was comforted by his brother's presence, he also chaffed at the idea that Aglarelen only hovered nearby believing his youngest brother incapable of caring for himself.
"Aglarelen" he called softly, hoping to get the answers he needed without having to take this up with the rest of the group. He would not wish to chastise Elrond or Glorfindel, but if he discovered what he feared he would, he worried his frustration might loosen his tongue.
"Yes, Legolas?"
"When we were attacked" he faltered, embarrassed by both what he had perceived and at having to speak of it. "Had you and the others discussed circling around me during attack? Did you do it because you do not believe I am capable to fight at least as well as Estel?"
Aglrarelen gaped at his brother. "We sought to protect you, it is true, but we did not do so out of any notion that you cannot protect yourself!"
"Yet you herded me safely to the center of the group and fought more than your share of beasts so that I might be spared"
Aglarelen held up a hand. "Nay, brother, you are mistaken. We meant no insult." He leaned closer to his brother then locking his eyes on the young elf's and taking his hand. "You do not understand. I fear for you. I fear you will be taken from me now, for you are more vulnerable than ever before."
Legolas scowled. "You do not trust my skills!"
"Brother, you do not trust your skills! But, nay, that is not the reason. I fear because you are mortal nowor at least you may be. Even Lord Elrond cannot say for sure, but if you are, you do not pass to the Halls of Mandos. If you are, you do not pass to Valinor." His voice cracked. "I once told you that yours is the dearest life in Middle-earth to me, and that remains true. I would not see you die, when I have no clue what that means for a mortal!"
Legolas was silent absorbing his brother's words. Truly, he had not thought of these things. Clearly Aglarelen had thought of them keenly. "Forgive me, my brother."
"There is no need of that, my brother. I know why you ask what you ask. Were I in your shoes, it would be difficult not to think as you do." Aglraelen squeezed his brother's hand. "Get some rest, Legolas. We will ride hard again tomorrow. Estel is in need of healing."
Legolas nodded and turned to look at his best friend. Elladan had placed Aragorn by the fire and Lord Elrond was again checking his wounds, while Elrohir prepared some sort of tea.
Legolas hoped they were not serious, and the lack of poison was encouraging, but Aragorn had lost–and was still losing–a lot of blood. Such injuries, even without poison could prove fatal. If Aragorn lost his life in a quest to restore Legolas', the elf prince didn't think he could bear that.
To Be Continued
Grumpy: Thanks! I hoped that would be believable.
Jadelyn Rashwe: Thanks for the review! Yeah! I like the action, too, but I sort of put off writing it. I hoped it wouldn't sound too offif you know what I mean. I'm generally better with angst than action!
Bec: Thanks! He's not immortal until he's elvish again, or at least that's what everyone believes. I tried to address that in this chapter.
Barbara Kennedy: Great phrase! I may just borrow that! I do think it would be hard for him to deal withaside from the obvious physical limitations, to take away the very essence of yourselfthe things that help define you as youthat's got to be tough to handle!
Andmetwen: No hints! I'm not exactly sure how this is going to turn out myself! You raise an interesting question about Legolas possibly having to relearn his elvish skills once he becomes elvish againassuming I make him elvish again(evil grin!).
Tithen Min: Thanks so much! Your reviews really make my day! The Father and Son relationships are really intriguing to me in this universe. I'm glad you liked that scene!
Felian: Thanks! Yes, I wanted a lot of emotion in this story as a whole. Those are my favorite things to write and to read. As I mentioned above to Jadelyn Rashwe, I don't think I write action too well, so I like to stick to emotional scenes. Yes, they didn't give Legolas a lot to do in the movie. I didn't see him as detached so much as melancholy, except of course when he was counting the orcs he slew at Helms Deep! He was downright jovial there!
White Wolf: I hoped I'd made Elrond's slapping of Legolas seem like a desperate move. Elves don't hit their children, and, though Elrond isn't his father, I don't think he would easily decide to attack Legolas for whatever reason.
Shadow Warrior: Thanks so much! I am thrilled that you're enjoying the fic!
Purplesmacker: Wow! Really flattering review! Thank you sooo much! I was a little concerned that my description of Legolas' connection to the song might be a little over the top! Proof that feedback is essential! Thanks so very much!
Setrinan: No worries! I couldn't stop writing it if I triedwhich I won't. Sorry this chapter was so long in coming, but I was away for awhile and didn't have access to a computer. Thanks for you patience, and please keep reviewing!
Leggylover03: There will be plenty of evil along the way! LOL! One thing you can count on in LOTR fanfic is the evil to be encountered! Yes, I hope Galadriel can fix this, too! Hint: She may need help! (evil grin)
Chloe Amethsyst: Thanks! I was trying to capture that process myself. It is a difficult thing to deal with, and often it becomes all the person going through it can think about. (I've been there, too, as you will know if you read my previous reviews in other chapters re: eyesight.) It's harder than people realize. I know people who didn't realize what I was going through, and thought I'd improved more than I let on since I sort of kept my fears and worries internal. I'm glad you like the fic!
IrishChickie: Thanks! That was a wonderful thing to read! I will try to post my subsequent chapters much quicker than this one!
Strider's Girl: Hee! Nice handle! Thanks about Sauron! I was hesitant to use him, but I thought it would really help the story. Thanks again. I'm glad you're enjoying this.
Padfoot4ever: Thanks! Again, I am really sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up. I hope you liked it! Next one will be up quicker!