Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except for my bird. Chirp.
Author's Note: Er…sorry for another late update—I really don't have an excuse for this one except that I'm a lazy person…so yeah. I'm sorry. But the baby is in this chappy! Enjoy, Deana! This one is for you!
00000000000o Chapter 21 o00000000000000
The elven army stood on the barren battlefield—a place that had once been a stretch of empty sand dyed blue in the full moon—it was now stained red with the blood of orcs and elves alike. The soldiers were gathered around two points. One, the spot where their great general Hathol had died, and the other…
"Legolas, try and calm her." Lord Elrond ordered the young Prince. Legolas was staring and speachless at the screaming thing his wife had become. Legolas swallowed, his throat dry and voice cracking.
"Eressa…darling…it's alright." He whispered as soothingly as he could.
Eressa gritted her teeth and her eyes opened long enough to shoot him a glance that meant "No, it certainly is not!" Legolas frowned as Lord Elrond placed his hands on the girl's stomach.
"Eressa, hear my voice." He said sternly, yet softly. Legolas didn't know how the older elf could remain so calm. He was more nervous than he had been when he was dueling with the Ringwraith.
What if something goes wrong? He thought with fright. What if the baby really is Sauron? What if the baby is hurt?
Lord Elrond concentrated his healing energy and directed it at the screaming girl. "Eressa." He repeated, drawing her attention to him. She slowly quieted and gradually her screams became nothing more than weak, quick pants. Then he spoke again.
"Eressa, you must lay flat. Don't fight the contractions. Breathe steadily and relax." The old elf lord gave the orders coolly, as if he were simply speaking to one of his servants back in Rivendell.
Eressa whimpered as she felt another contraction come on. She squeezed the hand Legolas had offered her with all her might and heard him wince slightly, so she instantly let go. But Legolas gently slipped his hand back into hers. She looked at him with question.
"If it makes you more comfortable." The prince said meekly.
Eressa smiled for a split second before the pain rolled over her. She felt a scream welling up out of her throat but bit her lip and tried to breath deeply as Lord Elrond had said. It helped, but only a little.
"Is she ready yet?" Legolas asked impatiently. The elf lord looked at him with amusement.
"Labor is not quick, Legolas. Eressa could remain like this for hours." He said warily.
Legolas blinked. "Hours?!" He cried and then looked at his wife. Thankfully, she was too busy concentrating on breathing correctly to listen. "What do we do till then?"
The lord nodded and waved his sons closer to him. Elladan and Elrohir leaned over each of his shoulders and Estel moved closer, next to Legolas.
"I want you three to take the soldiers and find me some Dragon's Root. It should grow somewhere near here." Elrond said. He looked up at Legolas and smiled. "It should lessen her pain and calm her nerves."
Elladan blinked. "But we have Athelas with us." He reached inside a small pouch at his side and pulled out a few stems.
"That won't do." Lord Elrond said curtly. "You must find some Dragon's Root. Take all the soldiers and find me some."
Estel frowned. "I've never heard of that weed before. What's it look like?"
"A small green plant with pointed leaves and orange flowers. Now go, rally the soldiers to find some!" The old elf was beginning to lose his patience with his sons' never-ending questions.
Elrohir nodded and stood up. He shouted to the troops and began to direct a group of them up the hill, from which they'd come. Estel and Elladan lingered behind for a while longer, but then decided the follow and then split up. They all seemed doubtful about finding the strange weed Lord Elrond had recommended.
Soon Legolas, Eressa and Lord Elrond were alone on the battlefield, save for the thousands of dead orcs strewn upon the ground. Legolas glanced nervously at Lord Elrond as Eressa's contractions seemed to come quicker and more powerful. He noticed that the older elf was smiling behind his mask of calmness.
"What exactly is the Dragon's Roots for again?" Legolas asked suddenly, wincing as Eressa squeezed his hand tightly again.
Elrond looked up. "Legolas…a plant called Dragon's Root doesn't exist."
Legolas narrowed his eyes, but said nothing.
The elf lord grinned. "You wouldn't want a thousand soldiers standing around during you're wife's childbirth, would you, Legolas?"
The elf Prince got the point. He supposed Elrond's three sons had known the same thing. "Oh. I see." He said. After some hesitation, he added: "Thank you."
"You need not mention it, Legolas." Elrond frowned when Eressa began to moan.
"Eressa?" Legolas asked shakily. "Elrond, do something!"
The elder looked at the Prince sternly. "Control yourself, Legolas. And if you can't, then please go elsewhere. You'll upset Eressa."
Legolas blinked. How dare he? Of course, Lord Elrond was older and wiser than he, but to order him to stay calm in a situation like this was quite enough.
"Lord Elrond," Legolas said as quietly as he could, "my wife is having a baby that may or may not be the reincarnation of the Dark Lord himself, on a battlefield, in the company of a thousand dead orcs. Do not try and tell me to stay calm!"
"Don't be a fool." The lord replied back at the threat.
At that moment, Eressa sat up and screamed, for she could take the pain no longer. Her sudden movement startled both the elves hovering over her, and Legolas became even more frightened.
"Oh Valar…Elrond…" The elf prince babbled on. He was well aware that he was acting more like a woman than a warrior, but he couldn't stop. "…something…something has to be…"
"Hush!" Elrond ordered. The lord turned back to the girl and forced her to lay flat. She too was so full of fear that it her eyes became green orbs in the dark.
"I-I…I can't do this…" She sputtered. "Elrond…I-I…" She couldn't choke the rest of her sentence out, but the elf lord seemed to understand.
"You're body knows what to do, Eressa." He whispered to the girl. "You must listen to it. And when I tell you to push, do so."
The elf lord moved his hand from Eressa's stomach and knelt in front of the girl's spreading thighs. He looked up at Legolas, whose eyes were nearly as round and frightened as his wife's.
"I think it is time." He said with a soft smile. "Legolas, you must keep her still. Do what you have to."
Legolas shakily nodded his head and looked at his wife. She looked back at him with uncertain expectations in her deep green eyes. For no reason he could come up with, he nearly said out loud that she seemed more beautiful than ever. But instead he offered her his other hand.
"Eressa?" He asked when she didn't take it immediately. She glanced at him and took it, but she didn't squeeze as hard as she had previously.
"I'm scared." She whispered through her teeth.
Legolas found himself smiling. "It's alright. I'm scared as well."
Lord Elrond watched the touching scene play over with silence, but then spoke. "Eressa, are you ready?" He asked.
The green eyes became huge again. "I-I don't know…"
The answer was good enough for the elf lord. "Very well then. I want you to push."
Eressa's sweat-covered brow furrowed, and she closed her eyes. Then she did her best to do what Elrond instructed her to do. Unfortunately, it hurt dreadfully.
Legolas gritted his own teeth as he felt Eressa's small hands entwine around his own and squeeze. It amazed him how strong she was, and at the same moment how weak she seemed. After a moment Eressa let go and collapsed on the ground, panting heavily.
"Is it over?" Legolas asked Lord Elrond.
The elf lord shook his head. "Once more, Eressa. Try pushing once more."
The girl's breath hitched in her chest. "No…" She moaned, but obeyed anyway.
Slowly, Legolas watched and waited and prayed as his child was prepared to be brought into the world. He closed his eyes and recited a silent prayer to the Valar.
Then Legolas heard three things: A small, excited gasp from Elrond, a last, determined scream from Eressa, and then finally…a tiny sputtering from a tiny, new voice. The Prince's eyes popped open, and he saw his child for the first time, laying in Lord Elrond's protective arms.
Legolas instantly fell in love. His child. His baby. The greatest elven poets in Middle Earth could not describe this feeling.
"Legolas?" He suddenly heard. It was Eressa. "The baby…is it…"
Legolas opened his mouth to speak but he was so awe-struck that no sound escaped his lips. Lord Elrond answered for him.
"Your son…is fine, Lady Eressa." The elf lord said, using the girl's formal address. He moved closer, and Eressa let loose Legolas's hands and stretched out her arms.
"Give him to me." She whispered. "Let me hold him."
"Just a moment." Elrond said. Legolas watched speechlessly as the healer gently cleaned the baby, humming to it as he did so. The tiny sputter it had let loose previously gradually increased into a whine, and then the child hiccupped and began to cry loudly.
Legolas could have sworn it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. Lord Elrond placed the baby in his wife's arms, and finally the Prince could speak.
"Eressa…" He whispered breathlessly. "You were right."
The girl looked up at him. "What?" She asked.
"It is a boy." Legolas said sweetly. "You were right all along."
The new mother blinked a few times at her child. The little one hiccupped again and ceased crying, but he did not yet open his eyes.
"Yes. I knew it." Eressa sighed. "I knew it." She whispered once more before her eyes closed. Her hands became limp and she fainted on the ground, the baby still resting on top of her chest.
"Eressa!" Legolas shouted, instantly worried. His shout started his son, and the infant began to cry again. But neither the child's or the Prince's cries woke Eressa.
Elrond took the baby off Eressa's breast. "Do not fret, Legolas. She is only exhausted, I'm sure."
"Are you certain?" The worried elf asked.
"I'm sure." Lord Elrond repeated as he rocked the crying child until he quieted down. Legolas watched them both with envy. Elrond felt the Prince's eyes on him and looked up. "Would you like to?" He asked.
Legolas understood, smiled, and reached out his hands, but Elrond didn't place the baby in them right away. He got up, the child still in his arms and knelt next to Legolas on the other side of Eressa, and allowed Legolas to gently lift his son into his embrace.
"Support his head…there." The elf lord murmured as the Prince adjusted his arms.
Legolas literally felt the air leave his lungs and his heart skip a beat as he felt the weight in his arms, the little life he was holding. The infant balled his tiny fists and waves his arms about, a whimper escaping it's tiny mouth.
"He is cold." Lord Elrond said matter-of-factly, and he reached up to his collar and unclasped his long, flowing cape.
He gestured for Legolas to hand the child back to him and quickly wrapped it's tiny body in it, and then promptly returned the infant to it's father. The baby whimpered a little more but then quieted, and Legolas stared at him in wonder.
"He's so small…" He whispered without knowing it. The tiny fist somehow escaped from the velvet cape and rested against Legolas's chest. The Prince reached across and held the infant's hand in his own protectively.
Legolas was beside himself with a million emotions. They swirled so around his head and his heart and he felt faint for a minute. This tiny living thing he held in his arms…it felt extraordinary. The baby burbled and hiccupped one more time, and Legolas felt the rejoice well up inside him at every sound.
This is my son…he found himself thinking. This is my son.
As the new father stared at his child, Lord Elrond smiled. He remembered when his two sons had been born—as well as when he had been commissioned to be Estel's foster-father. They had both been joyous occasions, so wonderful that even an educated, wise elf such as he couldn't put them into words. But despite that, Elrond knew exactly what Legolas was feeling right now.
The Prince gasped in surprise and delight as the eyes of the infant fluttered open. They revealed crystalline green eyes—exactly alike to those of his mothers. Legolas stared into those eyes for what seemed like days, and the child stared back, innocent wonder at it's father.
After a while, Elrond lightly tapped Legolas on the shoulder. The younger elf started and looked up at the elder in surprise.
"We'd had better leave this place." Elrond said quietly. He slowly stood up and Legolas followed him, and watched him as the Lord picked up Eressa's body. She didn't stir.
"Are you certain Eressa will be alright?" Legolas asked again, a little too loudly. The child in his arms was startled by the noise, and began to cry. Legolas tried frantically to rock the baby in to silence, but it didn't work.
Elrond watched as the new father tried to quiet his weeping son. "She is tired." He answered after a minute, lifting Eressa higher in his arms. "I will tend to her once we get back to the palace."
Legolas looked up and nodded, but glancing worriedly at his wife. He turned back to his son and began to hum a little dance tune, trying to calm the baby in the same fashion that Elrond had. In fact, he realized, it was the one he had tried to teach Eressa to dance to when they were still both imprisoned at Curdolin's castle. The memory brought yet another warm smile to his face, and he followed Elrond out of the battlefield, leaving the traces of fear, doubt, and death behind him.
000000000000o Personal thing o000000000000
DING! DING! DING! DING! THE 200 REVIEW GOAL HAS BEEN HIT!! THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!! It's time for the amazing reappearance of…REVIEWER RESPONSES!!
frodofreak88: Thank you a whole lot! You are one of the few readers who has stuck by me no matter how long it takes me to update! I'm really grateful and sorry for making you wait! But YAY! Legolas killed the Wraith dude. Sorry about Hathol…you know, I actually originally planned not to kill him, but then I wrote it and it was good. Hehe. I can't wait till you see the end of the story, which should come in the next few (maybe two) chapters…I'll say no more. Except for this: Thanks again!
the essence of Popsicles: Where the heck do all you people get your names from? Speaking of names, I believe the island you're referring to is Tol Eressea, with two dots above the second "e". The extra "e" makes Eressea different from Eressa. Hence, Eressa's not named after an island. Thanks for reviewing anyway!
Deana: Well? What do you have to say now that the baby is born? You've been saying stuff like "I can't wait to see the baby" since we first found out Eressa was pregnant! It's adorable! Thank you for sticking with the story even with my horrible updating skills. I'm really grateful for you, my faithful reviewer! Thanks again!
The Noble Platypus: Wow, it seems like such a long time since I talked to you! Miss ya! Thanks for the compliments on the last chapter, I hope you like this one as much. Also thank you soo much for sticking with me all them times I didn't have time to update. As for your updates, I can totally wait. Take all the time you need! Your stories are THAT good!! I hope schooling is going well for you. You said you when to Minnisota somewhere, right? Well, I'm thinking about going to UW Eau Claire—that's pretty close to Minnasota—closer than I am now, anyways! Thank you so much!! Bye now!
LegyLuva: Thank you my faithful reviewer! Your compliments warm my soul!! Alright, enough with the drama. Thank you a whole lot for sticking with me despite my crazy not updating spree!! I really am grateful! About Hathol dying…yeah, actually I never really planned to kill him…I just wrote it and then thought it was good so I left it. Hehe…you just wait until the end of this story…hehe. Luv ya pal! Thanks so much! Bye now! I'm glad you liked that one line with the running and the pregnant woman! I like a little humor in a desperate, life or death situation, don't you? Thanks again!
cold-blooded-angel: Another cool-named person! Thanks for you're review! I'm glad you like it and I will continue as soon as possible!
Nirobie: I'm glad that you're glad there's an update. Wait, actually I'm glad to update too! I was afraid you'd all think I abandoned you! Thanks for reviewing despite my busy schedule! I will love you forever! Thanks again!
rose: I hope the suspense won't kill you! You have one or two chapters to go!! LOL. Thanks for you're review and I'll try and keep it up!
XxDarkgoddessxX: Thanks! I've never gotten an encore before! Don't worry about being busy, I've been busy too! Thanks so much for sticking with me for so long, chica! You frickin' rock! Luv ya!