Chapter 26.
The siblings all stared at their Grandfather using Limloeth's body. They were a bit shocked to hear such a voice coming from their sister.
"What?" Oropher said. "You all stare at me like I am some kind of orc."
"What have you done to Limloeth?" Legolas asked with a low and threatening voice.
"What?" Oropher said, like he couldn't believe the question. "Nothing! I did nothing to her! Do you think I would hurt my own grandchild? What do you take me for? A monster?"
"Indeed," Lanthir agreed.
"If you didn't hurt her, then where is she?" Legolas asked quickly, to draw the attention away from his brother.
Oropher sighed. "She is inside this body, as I am. She offered to share it so I could get out of the swamp. Very kind girl. Clever, too."
"She would never do that! That's too dangerous! That's... that's... " Lanthir shouted angrily.
"Please, my boy" Oropher interrupted him. "Keep the volume down a little. I'm dead, not deaf. And nothing will happen to you sister. She is quite capable of doing this. Limloeth is a very strong girl. It will be alright. Now... follow me."
None of the siblings moved. Lainfea clutched Legolas' leg.
"Limloeth is acting really weird," she whispered.
"Follow me, children," Oropher repeated, a bit more forcefully.
"We are not following you!" Legolas said.
Oropher stared at him. "Of course you are. I'm your leader, and your king."
"Thranduil is our king," Lanthir said glaring at his grandfather.
"And no one appointed you as our leader" Legolas added.
Oropher visibly began to lose his patience. "Nature has appointed me, boys. I'm older and stronger than all of you. That makes me the natural leader."
"Being older means nothing," Lanthir protested, glancing sideways at Legolas.
"And you are not stronger. You are in Limloeth's body. I'm stronger than she is."
Oropher sighed. "Alright," he said. "Show me that you're stronger. Come on, prove it."
Legolas didn't move. If Oropher was right, then Limloeth was still in her body somewhere. Her body was still recovering from the torture of orcs. He did not wish to hurt her further.
"If you want to be a leader,you must sometimes hurt those you care about," Oropher said.
"Maybe I don't want to be a leader," Legolas replied.
Oropher smiled. Legolas had fallen for his trap, just like his father would have.
"So, you agree upon my leadership then?"
But the older elf hadn't won the argument yet.
"We don't trust you," Legolas said. "Leadership requires trust."
Legolas found it difficult to trust someone when their masculine voice was coming from his younger sister, even if that someone was his grandfather.
Oropher smiled sadly. "That's what I said to Gil-Galad when I refused him as my leader. And look where it got me. Floating around in a swamp for an eternity."
Silence presided over the scene for a few seconds.
"Now," Oropher continued. "All I'm asking, is to lead you out of this swamp. From there, I will leave you and go to the Halls of Mandos. Your sister will have her body to herself again."
"Why do you want to lead so badly? What's in it for us?" Lanthir asked.
"Protection," Oropher answered.
Lanthir choked back a laugh. It was a bit strange seeing Limloeth that self-assured.
"Protection?" he asked sarcastically.
"Protection," Oropher comfirmed. "After all, most of the bodies floating around here are under my command."
"I need a sign," Legolas said.
"What?" Oropher said, not understanding.
"A sign that Limloeth is still alive. You say that she is with you and all of this happened with her permission. Prove it."
Oropher blinked a few times. The color of his eyes slowly turned from blue to brown.
"Legolas," Limloeth said in her own voice. "Grandfather is right."
Lanthir freaked. "You mean he is telling the truth? You allowed this? That's it! You are now officially mental. I give up!" he said, throwing his hands in the air. "You are beyond saving. How could you do that?"
"He is your grandfather, Lanthir!" Limloeth replied angrily. "Just because you are too insensitive to understand what a horrible place this is, doesn't mean that everybody else is! You're calling me stupid? Well at least I care! I'm not a stupid, little, blind..."
"Are you sure you can survive this?" Legolas asked, interrupting their squabble. "I know you wantto help Oropher, and so does Lanthir. We just care about you, Lim. Don't throw away yourself for somebody else."
"I can do this," she said, for once totally confident in her own strength.
"Alright, but why can't you just be the one talking one? Why can't he just travel with us unnoticed?" Lanthir whined.
"His soul is not as attached to my body as mine is, Lanth. He would not make it to the end of the Marshes. In fact, we have now reached about the limit his soul can take. I should retreat."
The color of her eyes changed once more.
"Now, do you believe me?" Oropher asked. Legolas thought about it. His mind was convinced that Oropher spoke the truth. He didn't feel he trusted Oropher, but at least he his mind thought so.
Plus, it would be so wonderful not to be the one in charge for a while. Not being the one responsible, not the one making the decisions.
"We will follow you," Legolas said. " But only until the we leave the swamp."
"Good," Oropher said. "Then we shall depart immediately. Where is your camp? We must gather your belongings."
Legolas bent down to pick up Lainfea.
"The girl will walk herself," Oropher said.
"She is only a child," Legolas protested. "She can't walk far."
"She is a child," Oropher agreed. "But a grandchild of Oropher will not be spoiled like some Noldor prince. She will pull her own weight."
"She is not spoiled. She was born in Mordor, Lanthir said.
"And what do you want her to be when she grows up? Eternally grateful that you two set her free? Or proud, because she set herself free? Do you want your sister to be in your debt forever?"
Legolas looked Lainfea in the eye. "Can you walk yourself today?" he asked, ignoring the glare his grandfather gave him.
Lainfea nodded.
"You will tell us, if you can't walk any further?" Legolas continued.
She gave another nod.
"Limloeth is not Limloeth. Is she?" Lainfea asked, looking up at her oldest brother.
"No," Legolas said. "Limloeth is the nice man from the water for a while."
"He gave me a present," Lainfea stated.
"Indeed," Legolas said, and stood upright. "Now let's go."
Oropher made them walk faster and longer than they usually would have. Legolas was worried. Their grandfather pushed Limloeth's body to its limits. Could he not feel she was still recovering from orc wounds? He also worried about his other siblings. Oropher had forced Lainfea to leave her new friend, Skipper the Frog, behind. Legolas could see how it had hurt the child to abandon another newly made friend. Yet she hadn't protested. That worried Legolas the most.
And then there was Lanthir. He did protest. In fact, he had returned to the annoying, whining Lanthir he had been when they had walked through Mordor. But unlike Legolas, Oropher did not have the insight to change Lanthir's behaviour. Their grandfather only gave stern comments and left no room for discussion of any kind. This only caused Lanthir to argue even more.
In some ways, Lanthir and Oropher were too alike to like each other. It was almost as if they could see their bad habits reflected in each other, but instead of learning from that experience, they those to lock horns.
It was an explosion waiting to happen. All Legolas could do was walk fast, and hope they would reach the end of the Marshes soon.
TBC...
Moriarwen: yes Oropher posessed her.. BUT not without her permission..
Rutu: You had a feeling it was Oropher? Cool.. that was what i meant.
Karone Evertree: Well Orph wasn't that bad.. he had permission..
Nessa Ar-Feiniel: The souls are trapped basisly because they in the wrong place to die.
They fouth a great battle on these plains, before it turned into a swamp..
In my view: Their fellow warriors burried them, but the ground was already evil.. and they were locked inside.. The evilness of the ground made it impossible for their souls to leave..
Oh wait.. I was supposed to send you the map.. It is comming.. just a minute..
moonshine44: What is weird about a dead grandfather posessing the body of his grandchild with her permission? Alright, alright.. I see your point..
Aly K: your worthless,boring speech? I haven't read it.. What I did read was interesting and a great review! Thanks!
Isiliel: WOW. WOW... stares at your review. WOW.
rambling,overanalyzing, and pesky questions ? I think NOT.. More PLEASE!
'Elvies' was deliberate.. I thought she would use a bit of childlanguage still.. when she is trying to be nice, but a little insecure..
Limloeth Clear Pool..
Lanthir Waterfall..
(Lainfea free spirit..)
CapriceAnn Hedican-Kocur: Well here is an other treat..
sam611: Thanks..