THE SPACE BETWEEN
Author's note: Delayed again, I am sorry! I'm not sure how many chapters we have left with this story but there aren't very many left I would deem. We are coming to a close. Well as you can see already the story is getting darker and darker, I have a feeling things will be getting worse before they can get better (don't they always?) Anyhow here it is! Thank you so much for the reviews, they are always treasured and appreciated!
silvervail, wow! I can't believe you reviewed so much! Wow, thank you so much! I really appreciate every one of your reviews! They make me smile!cherry, hi! Thanks for your review! I hope you like what's to come! Hope to hear from you soon!Alwyn Telrunya, thank you always for your faithful reviews! I really appreciate your comments; they do help me! I know the story is pretty dark at the moment and it will get darker, I don't really know why Legolas knew about Willow falling into darkness, I think the other elves felt it as well, but it broke Legolas' heart, he knew from then on that he was needed. I'm glad you like how the plot entertwined, I hope you'll like how that works out here too, but I'm warning ya… :) Oh and I know I'm very slow for reviews, I always get on the computer late at night so I have very little energy to review, but it's on top priority in my to-do list! I just hope that it won't take another month to review one chapter! But don't give up on it! Hey you know what? I'm expanding my website and I wanted to know if I could like your story to my site? Would you let me do that? Pretty please! I'm working on getting authors to give me their consent to do that now, but I'm hoping to get that fixed up over the holidays, so I'll let you know, if you're interested of course! Thanks again!
Ooh! I have an important announcement! Most of you have read Sleepy Willow, I hope, right? Well anyhow I'm just letting you know that I've started a very massive revision of that story and I'm completely rewriting it. It will have some similarities with the old one but you can expect much character expansion, more angst, more humour (I always hope) and more romance? Well we'll see about that one! So look out for that once this story's finished!
Thanks for you patience, now here is the story! Hope you enjoy and as always, don't be afraid to give me feed back, it's the best way to get better stories in the future!
Chapter Seventeen
When Darkness Claims You
He half expected his eyes to be flooded with light as he opened them. They were not. In fact he was met by darkness, nearly complete darkness save for a faint flickering of candlelight. A strong feeling of suffocation having overcome him, he gasped for air, filling his lungs with the foulness of Mordor. He clutched his chest in panicked desperation as one who was buried alive.
"He's awake", he heard a croaky voice speak, "the dratted little rat is awake."
"Get Lord Makowyl then, he wanted to know when he would awake," another hoarse voice replied.
"Makowyl? What about Him, shouldn't we be getting Him? Surely we should listen to Him more than that filthy rotten excuse of an Elf!" the first voice said.
"Shut up, Snacrag!" the second voice bellowed. "Makowyl's the one who ordered us to tell him. If the Dark Lord wants to know, he'll ask Makowyl. Let's go before he feeds us to her."
Orcs, it was unmistakable. He was still in Mordor. Where, he knew not, nor did he possess any knowledge of his companion's whereabouts. Sam! Where was he? Was he all right? He could barely recollect the events when he last saw his dear loyal friend. He remembered running out of a cave, Sam not far behind, or so he thought. Then, there was something in his way, he could barely recall it but for the stinging pain it left. He had been wounded, he knew that much.
After being certain that all the Orcs in the room were gone, Frodo sat up slowly, his head spinning like wheels. Looking around, he noticed he was in a large gloomy room, empty safe for the table where he laid. Narrow windows running the length of the walls barely allowed any light to filter through. Faint movement behind one of the heavy curtains draping the windows caught his attention. He would not have noticed the cloaked shadow in the darkness if it weren't for the light from which the window reflected onto the shadow.
Strangely, Frodo was not seized by fear as one would expect as the shadow moved slightly, still looking outside, yet still ignoring the Ring bearer's presence. Instead, he was oddly attracted to the being. He hoped off the table and walked in a trans-like manner towards the mysteriously cloaked being. He was but three feet away when he stopped. The shadow slowly turned to face him. His heart froze as he felt the blood drain from his face upon recognising the ice-cold eyes glaring at him.
"Willow," he said, unable to hide the apprehension and surprise from his voice. "What are you doing here?"
Willow only stared back at him with her empty eyes, intensifying her glare. She remained silent.
"What happened? How did you get here?" Frodo asked urgently. "Where is Sam? Have you seen him?" he implored.
For a brief moment, there was a faint flash of sorrow in the Elf's eyes, but before Frodo could think twice about it was gone. The hobbit turned his head around swiftly as he heard the loud snap of a bolt and a door opening. Lifelessly Willow followed his gaze and saw another Elf, a dark elf enter the chamber. Strangely Frodo felt as though he might have seen him before, but he could see the cold hatred behind his eyes. He did not need to know this Elf personally to figure out he could not trust him.
"Aryon, the Lord demands to know the results of your scouting? Have you found anything?" he demanded coolly.
Slowly Willow lifted her eyes to meet Makowyl's spiteful ones. "Makowyl, they were two," she said pointing to Frodo, "one I found." She revealed a cloak and an overcoat, Sam's overcoat. Frodo gasped in horror, the coat was torn and stained with blood.
Understanding the meaning of this, he rushed towards Willow to take hold of his friend's coat. "No!" he shrieked, grief-stricken, hoping to get his hands on the last remnant of the sweet-natured hobbit, Frodo never wanted to involve in his quest. Tears flooded his eyes, fearing the worst fate for his friend. What would he do now?
Makowyl cruelly shoved the hobbit to the ground. He took the coat from Willow's grasp and shoved it under his arm. Frodo looked up, wiping the blood from his mouth and shrank back, unable to think.
"And what of the halfling you found? Surely you used him for more than just sport? Have you found anything on him?" he pressed the Elf forcefully, gripping her arm.
"Nothing," Willow replied, breaking away from Makowyl's painful grip. "I found nothing of value. This halfling," she said of Frodo turning her evil eyes towards him, "he must know where it is."
"He knows," Makowyl repeated. "Then we must take the knowledge from him, forcefully, by whatever means necessary."
Frodo closed his eyes as the dark Elf made to lung at the hobbit but Willow interjected and held him back. The frightened hobbit opened his eyes once more.
"No, we have not the time for you to amuse yourself."
Makowyl hissed at her. "Your heart is still soft, you are too weak. Perhaps we should remedy to this after we find what we are looking for."
"It is not weakness, it is efficiency. Give me a moment," she commanded surprising the Elf with the authority in her voice. "I shall hind out all there is to know. I shall find the Ring, do not fret."
The dark Elf sneered. "Do as you wish, gwaur edhel. I shall speak to our Lord of this. No authority should you have over me. Remember this Elf rat: this is not over yet," he growled as he left in a puff of anger.
Once Makowyl was gone, Frodo signed in relief maybe he had been wrong about Willow and she really wanted to help him. But as he saw the feral look on the once sweet face of the elf, he knew he was sorely mistaken.
"Now," Willow said frightfully a large shadow hovering over her, "we shall find out where is the Ring."
"Curse that dratted Elf!" shouted Aragorn in his tent. "If he survives this I will kill him!"
"Oh Estel, you cannot mean that?" Elrohir said.
"I do not know Elrohir, he does seem rather convinced to me."
"Thank you Elladan, this is not helping. Estel, please do not be angry."
"How can't I be angry? Legolas has run off to face certain death and you wish for me to be happy?" he said, his voice heavily laced with sarcasm.
Elrohir tried to hide the smile twitching on the corner of his lips. "No, of course not Estel but you cannot blame Legolas for leaving. If it were Arwen, you would do the same, would you not?"
Aragorn's shoulders slumped in defeat. He was right; Elrohir always was. He turned his hurt-filled eyes to his brothers. "Of course I would, without a moment of hesitation. You know that," he said softly.
"Yes I do certainly hope so, else I have to dispose of you for thinking so and would require find my sister a new suitor."
"Oh, thank you for having such faith in me, dear brother."
"No, I do not doubt you; you know this. Please find it in your heart to forgive him. He has never know such love since his brother passed so long ago, he feared love for many years," subtly Elrohir opened his arms. Aragorn embraced his brother.
"I could never imagine anything happening to her," he said of his Evenstar, "I believe I would die from the pain alone."
"So would I," replied his brother. Aragorn pulled back to see the deep hurt in his eyes. It was always there, hidden behind a wall of mirth and light.
"I am so sorry," the man said, meaning much more than his anger towards Legolas.
"Of course not, do not be," Elrohir replied.
Elladan, who watched the whole scene without saying a word, exclaimed, "Oh, I cannot stand it any longer," he rushed forward to hug both his brothers.
"We shall get through this, all of this. We shall prevail; I swear it. I shall not let any of you down."
Elrohir looked up. "You never have Elladan, we have complete faith in you, we always had." The three brothers held each other for a long silence moment.
"Gimli must be furious," Aragorn said at last.
The twins looked up to exchange impish grins. "Yes, that is why Haldir is the one chosen to break him the news."
Aragorn's eyes grew wide in a mixture of horror, shock and amusement. "Oh no! You did not?"
The twins' smile grew even wider. "Oh yes we have."
Aragorn shook his head. "I hope nothing ill befalls him."
"Who?" Elladan asked. "Haldir or Gimli?"
"Both," Aragorn answered. All three brothers stared at each other's humourous expressions and burst into laughter, imagining the possibly brutal encounter between Elf and Dwarf.
He had lost track of time of how long he had been running. He had no clue. It could have been days as well as weeks; it made no difference at this point. All he knew was his destination was at hand. Although he had been running five days with minimal rest, Legolas was not yet wearying. It was strange, as though he was given additional strength the more he ran.
Stopping for a moment, Legolas took the time to observe his surroundings and regain his breath. It was adrenaline and sheer will power that drove him, not unlimited strength thus even with his renewed vigour, rest was ultimately required. He ascertained he was near the fallen city of Osgiliath on the Eastern Shore of the Anduin River. Thus at the most he figured he had, at his current speed, at least two more days until he would reach the Black Gate of Mordor, but who knew from there? How could he enter Mordor without getting himself caught? It was madness, he knew that much. It was pure insanity to attempt such folly. He did know why he did though, why he embarked on this hopeless one-way trip to darkness.
"Elenath sila," he said as he looked up to the sky. It was in the dead of the night; dawn would soon be at hand within a few hours. "The stars shine, there is still hope. Until there is no life and no breath in my body I shall not cease to fight, I shall not give up. I must try, so much depends on this." Legolas did mean there was much more than his love for Willow at stake; it was so much more than that. The fate of the Ring bearer and thus all of the free peoples of Middle Earth would be at stake and would depend so easily on the elf's self-appointed task. "Two more days," he thought, "and then what? Where to go?"
Realising of course the first thing to accomplish would be to fulfil his need to cross the Anduin. Wondering how he would come up with an adequate plan to accomplish his goal, Legolas was relieved to find a small abandoned boat hidden in some dried bushes nearby. He felt immense relief since he was no longer obliged to find an alternate route or construct a vessel to transport him across the river. Swiftly, he worked to free the boat from its bushy prison and began to traverse the river. At this rate, he would make it to the Eastern Shore by dawn.
As Anor began to climb up on the horizon, Legolas had arrived safely back on dry land when his ears picked a rather strange sound came he had never heard before. Yet he knew instantly what it was. He stopped his motion and looked up to the sky above. And there they were floating about the heavens with the freedom known only the their species. Never before had the Elf heard the squawking sounds of seagulls. As they flew about the Elf underneath them, they spoke of the sea and of her many secret treasures. And so she taunted the Elf, calling him to her, promising to take care of him and take him over to Valinor where his kin dwelt. Legolas looked up and was completely mesmerised by the celestial beasts circling the air about him. There it was, so swiftly it came the Elf never knew what hit him. So compelled he was, as he watched them, he began to feel a disquieted stirring in his heart. It was faint and subtle at first, but it was not long before the Elf was overwhelmed by the strong desires to see the sea.
"The Sea!" he cried, completely forgetting his imminent task at hand. He did not know how long he stood there staring at the gulls flying above, but in his heart he knew, never again would he find any joy in the world around him. Just as Galadriel has predicted, the elf's spirit as he knew it would be severed from Middle Earth.
"To the Sea, to the Sea!" Legolas chanted softly, his prior momentum ultimately forgotten. His only desire was to reach over the sea.
Makowyl idly paced back and forth, a wild snarl on his cruel face. He had been waiting for half a day now for Aryon to come out with the information his Lord sought so desperately. At long last the door behind which the Elf and Hobbit had disappeared opened to reveal a rather dishevelled and exhausted Willow.
"Well," the dark elf snapped, "what news? What has taken you so long?"
"It has taken much strength to penetrate his mind. He was given a strength elixir, one of elven make from the Galadhrim. He used it and made his mind nearly impossible to read."
Makowyl snarled furiously. "I do not care! I want results, not excuses! Tell me! Where is it?" he growled grasping the elf by her collar.
Willow glared him coolly, her eyes challenging him. "I do not know," she said lowering her eyes. "He is much stronger than he appears to be. He appears to conceal his thoughts well; the elixir and the time of which he carried the ring have given him much strength thus making it difficult for me to counter it's effects. That is why it has taken more time, but at last I finally did see his thoughts, but there was nothing there to see. He knows even less of the Ring's fate than we do. He does not know where it is. The Ring is lost somewhere in Mordor. If you so wish, you may go and search for it yourself, since that is what you desire, is it not? To take the Ring for yourself and challenge the Dark Lord and betray him?"
Makowyl pushed the Elf away and sharply snapped her head to the side with the back of his hand, knocking her to the ground. "Insolent rat! You shall swallow your words and chock on the bitter taste they leave behind! I knew you were useless and not to be trusted! I will show you now it is we take the information we seek!" he shouted furiously. He reached in the room where Frodo's mind had been probed.
Willow stared blankly a he left, wiping the blood from her mouth. Makowyl returned, dragging a helpless Frodo with him. Willow carelessly observed the Dark Elf and followed him as he left the dark recesses of the chamber.
"Listen Aryon, if you want something you need to be intelligent and swift enough how to grasp it. Of course it was not the foolish Galadriel and the useless Celeborn that taught you this. I am certain that a small conversation with the Orcs will help loosen our friend's tongue and we shall know all there is."
Understanding Makowyl's intent, Frodo began a vain struggle to get free. He caught Willow's glance and was deeply wounded by the blankness and nonchalance he found in her eyes. He understood she cared not at all for his fate, nor that of Middle Earth; the old Willow he knew in Lothlórien was dead, replaced by this cold careless fiend.
"You're a monster! A cold heartless monster, you don't care about anything anymore!" Frodo shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice reflecting the hurt in his heart.
"You betrayed us! You betrayed them! Sam, Legolas, Aragorn, Galadriel, they trusted you! And you let them down! You betrayed Middle Earth!" he continued to shout as Makowyl continued to drag him down to the bowels of Mordor where a dreadful fate awaited him. He brought his hurtful eyes up to meet the Elf's dead ones.
"Well I hope the darkness betrays you!"
Makowyl rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Touching, very touching, now will you be silent since as you can see and just as you said, there are none who care!"
"No!" the hobbit cried one last time in despair before he slacked and resigned himself to his fate.
Willow remained unmoved during the whole exchange, her cold eyes reflecting the emptiness of her heart. Nothing, this hobbit meant nothing, as did his words. Shrugging, the she-elf continued to lifelessly follow them.
By the time they reached the orc pit, Frodo had completely ceased his struggled, submitting to defeat all the while feeling the immense weight of his failure as Ring bearer. Yet somehow he still held hope as he shouted to Willow, hoping one last time to break through the Elf's icy exterior, but it was useless. The Elf was lost to the light and soon all the light in Middle Earth would succumb to darkness as well. Mere moments before Makowyl threw him inside, Frodo attempted to reach the one he once considered a friend.
"I hope all your dreams come true and you get all you want. I hope you're happy now," he said calmly, his eyes pleading for mercy or anything. Alas, it was useless! Makowyl pushed the hobbit in and locked the door. He turned to stare at Willow who had not moved a hair since the halfling had spoken.
"You did not believe any of that, did you?" he asked, his voice filled with contempt.
Willow raised her eyes to meet his, "No, of course not," she whispered mechanically in her soft voice.
"Good," replied the dark elf. He left Willow alone to stare at the door that held the poor hobbit to suffer at the hands of the Orcs and returned to speak with the Dark Lord of all that had occurred.
For nearly twenty minutes she remained motionless, staring curiously at the door, intently studying its details. Then she heard the crack of a whip and a long hopeless wail of pain. She smiled darkly. "It has begun," she whispered. In her shorn heart, Willow knew what had to be done next.
The sea, the sea, the sea! For the longest time there was nothing else in the Elf's mind but the impending desire to sail over the sea. Oh how he greatly desired to see her! He was still standing on the Eastern Shore of the Anduin, North of Osgiliath. She was calling him and he could not resist her. "I am coming," he said in his heart and he was about to turn south, towards the southern sea, when a terribly loud crash resounded in his ears. Instantly on alert, the Elf snapped out of his reverie just as quickly as he was drawn in. Quickly, he shed a glance to the West, towards Minas Tirith, where he could easily see smoke and objects being propelled into the early morning sky.
"Darkness has come, the battle has begun," he thought as he heard the same sound again, this time urging him to continue what he had started. People were dying just as he was dreaming of the sea and it was time to move. Many more lives would depend on this. Once again, he continued on, never looking back at the battle scene unravelling itself behind him, lest he turn back and join them. He knew deep down in his heart that what he was doing was helping them just as much as if he were there fighting with them.
"Aragorn, mellon nin, may the Valar keep you and all those with you safe."
His direction was east, to the gate and for nearly two days he ran on. The closer he was getting to Mordor, the heavier his heart felt thus all the more the cry of the gulls appealed to him. Yet somehow it also lightened his heart, giving him enough strength to continue his trek through the orc littered land, the sounds of battle and war being at the same time faraway so close. It took Legolas again, a great deal of willpower to not turn back, not only to help those in battle but to also appease the quailing fears rising in his heart. At long last he found it, the dreaded Black Gate. But now that he found it, how could he enter? He crept up behind large boulders that efficiently concealed his presence from any casual passer-by. From that perch, he could easily observe the entrance to the Land of Shadow. The Gate was fully opened with all the comings and goings. What appeared to be thousands of Orc battalions would march out with hosts upon hosts of Haradrim and Easterlings.
Legolas sighed, at least worrying about the Gate being close was no longer an issue. Hiding in the rocks, he waited for the right moment. His observations revealed that despite the many troops that were passing out of the gate, many were going in. A plan was then set in motion; it was not complicated but hopefully effective. Slowly and quietly he sneaked down towards the outer slope of the rocks, away from the Black Gate. His prayers were answered when he saw a small battalion of Haradrim marching towards the entrance. With sharp thinking, he hid himself and imitating a bird's call, he threw a handful of tiny rocks in the soldiers' direction to get their attention as subtly as possible, perhaps this way he would be able to surprise them. It worked. A Haradrim, who noticed the sound and the birdcall, came forward towards Legolas' hiding spot. Fortunately he had caught only one soldier's attention, the others simply continued on their way, completely oblivious to what was about to happen. As silent as a mouse and as quick as lightening, Legolas surprised the Haradrim and instantly downed him. He stripped off the soldier's armour and dressed himself in it.
Silently he thanked the Valar and the soldier for his donation. He breathed in and asked Illúvatar for help before he made to join 'his' troop long gone. The other soldiers stared at their companion and scowled. One of them, most likely their leader shouted something in the tongue of Harad. Not understanding what was said, Legolas only smiled and shrugged, the other satisfied with the elf's response.
"Only a few more minutes and it would be over," Legolas thought as he saw the Black Gate come into full view. Never before in all the long years of his life had he ever been so close to the Dark Land. Never before had he ever been so terrified as well. When he passed through the Gate, Legolas could not help but hold his breath as if fearing discovery by the simple essential act of breathing. He was inside! Legolas Thranduilion was inside Mordor. He almost did not believe it himself. It was terrible to be in such a place; not even his father's stories or the subsequent nightmares he had could have prepared him for this. He saw in the distance tall and fearsome, the tower of Barad-dûr with a great eye wreathed in flame atop it. Not far, to the West of Barad-dûr, Legolas saw the dreadful lava bubbling and spitting out of Mount Doom. Silently he prayed for Frodo and Sam, thinking of how they must feel in such a terrible place. "I hope you fare well young hobbits, I would hate to see great harm come to you."
As soon as it was possible, Legolas safely exited the company of the Haradrim, now allowing himself to do what he set out to do. The Elf gazed about him. "If I were Aryon O Huine, where would I be? Willow, where are you?" His eyes set once more on Barad-dûr. "There you are," he whispered, hoping that perhaps his light speech would reach his heart.
He began to creep up along the Ered Lithui to find himself facing the tower. But as he crept along, a dark and foreboding warning also crept up his spine. Legolas felt the danger almost mere moments before it was upon him. Taking out his knives, he was caught barely on the unawares, when at least two dozen Orcs were surrounding him. He fought them as best he could, taking down as many foul beasts as he could but he was wearier than he believed and they were many and had not run for seven days with minimal rest. A metal boot caught him in the back of the knee while another clubbed him in the stomach, snatching whatever precious air was left in his lungs. Legolas fell to his knees and he was instantly pressed down by the mass of orcs around him, sneering and spiting in his direction. They kept him on his knees, their foul hands pressing on his shoulders after they had tightly bound his hands. The orc who appeared to be in charge came forward and pulled out his knife, drawing invisible patterns on the Elf's face, coming a little too close to his eyes.
"What do we do with this on?" he spat.
"Let's see how long he'll live if we slowly tear his limbs apart, one at a time," another orc sneered.
"Or we could gouge out those pretty eyes and let the trolls play with him," the orc captain suggested as he grabbed the Elf's hair, bringing his face up to meet his own, raising the crude blade to Legolas' right eye.
"Nah," the second orc spoke again. "It's been too long since we've had some nice meat, especially sweet elven meat. I say we eat him, alive."
The others roared in approval, when suddenly the orc captain stopped his jeering. He looked at his subordinates and shushed them. "No, they want him," he said, his eyes travelling towards Barad-dûr. "They want him alive and now."
The orcs grumbled in disappointment and disapproval. "That ugly she-elf is poisoning all their minds, she wants all the toys for herself," one orc whined.
"Nay, Shekrash, it's that other elf, the one who was here before, he thinks he can control the Master when no one can," the captain spoke irritably. "It doesn't matter, c'mon we're dragging him in, but I don't think they mind in what condition he's in when we get there."
The other orcs smiled viciously at the Elf. Legolas gulped inwardly, things had not gone as well as he hoped. Closing his eyes, he tried to prepare himself for what was to come.
Well that's all for now, please don't forget to leave a comment or two, and keep your eyes out for a new version of Sleepy Willow tentatively entitled "In this Light". Ciao, see you later guys!