The Lost City Of Cirus
Author's Note:
Well hopefully some of you out there are still reading this cause things take an interesting turn before the war starts. I've drafted a couple of chapters ahead so I'm hoping that might help speed up delivery of chapters.
Christiana Anderson Thanks so much for your review, it really means a lot to me when you say such wonderful things about my fic. Hopefully I'm not keeping you chained to your computer for too long. Thanks again for your generous comments and I'm glad you consider my fic fantastic and original.
Please enjoy and review!
Twenty-six
Legolas Learns A Harsh Lesson
Aragorn motioned for his guards to leave them be in the throne room and had them close the main doors behind them. He directed both Legolas and Aquila to a table set to the left of his throne and motioned that they should sit.
"You must be exhausted Princess, I can't imagine almost twelve days of flight with little rest has been easy."
She gratefully accepted the seat offered to her and once she was seated Aragorn took the chair at the table's head and Legolas seated himself across from Aquila.
"Thank you King Elessar. You are right on that matter, I have truly pushed my flight limits and am almost spent. I will sleep well tonight and once we have finished our talk I would hope you would not find me rude were I to retire to bed."
"Of course not Princess, in fact I will shorten talks so that you may get some rest as soon as possible."
"How have preparations been going?" Legolas queried after a moment.
Aragorn waved the question off with a flick of his hand, he could discuss this with his friend later, for now he needed to get everything from Aquila he could so that she could get some sleep.
"This I will discuss with you later Legolas. For now I wish to commend both of you on your efforts to rally the Rocs, 15,000 are far more than I dared hope for. Had I known there were that many of you left perhaps I would have requested more."
"You would not have received more. Father was willing to send all he could without endangering the city's defenses. There may be more of us left than you thought but there are still not that many."
"I see." Aragorn nodded slowly, allowing the information to sink in. "You were so sure your father would be worse than objectionable, why the change of heart from him?"
It was Aquila's turn to wave the comment off but in doing so Aragorn caught a glimpse of the ring on her finger before she hid it once again beneath her right hand on the table. He could read nothing into it in her expression and so he turned his attention to Legolas, the Prince's face was also a well-painted mask. They were hiding something from him and he knew it. He'd find out before the day was through though, once Aquila was gone he would pry the information from his friend.
"What changed his mind is not important, what is though is that you are going to have to house 15,000 Rocs in a city of Men who resent them at best. I promised they would be safe and free from harm within your walls Aragorn, how do you plan to uphold that promise?"
"I have already set aside a small part of the city to house them so they will not need to be mixed in amongst the Men. I have, however, told my men that they will be fighting alongside these Rocs and that they had better learn to at least accept them or our demise is likely to come about. I trust I can expect the same from your army."
"Firstly they are not my army, they are my brother's. But yes they have been told similarly and will uphold their end of the bargain and be civil and cooperative with your Men as long as they do not feel threatened by them."
"That is all I ask. You brother has been informed of this?"
"Yes, I told him upon arrival. He will address the army on the matter again once they have landed."
"Thank you Aquila, you have proven to be an invaluable ally in this war. You may go and rest now, if you wish. The room you stayed in before you left for Cirus is still vacant for you and Legolas."
She paused for a moment, shocked that Aragorn remembered the name of her city, she had only mentioned it a handful of times at the most. She smiled at him and stood from her seat, politely the two males stood also.
"Thank you King Elessar, I believe I will go and rest now. Most likely I will sleep right through till dawn tomorrow and this will be the best way for me to recuperate."
"You do not wish to be roused to take dinner then?"
"Though the offer is most kind it is best if my sleep is not disturbed."
"Then a hearty breakfast shall be prepared for you and brought to your room in the morning. May you sleep well."
He bowed slightly and Aquila curtsied in response. She then moved around the table to place a soft kiss on Legolas' cheek before she took her leave and exited the throne room, bound for the stairwell that would take her to the large soft bed she knew would be waiting.
No sooner had Aquila left the room did Aragorn grab Legolas' left hand and hold it up in front of his face. Sure enough the silver ring that he had seen previously on his friend's right hand, after his return from Lothlórien and Aglarond, had now migrated to his left ring finger. Aragorn lifted his eyes from the Elf's hand to his face and raised a questioning eyebrow.
"I think you might have some explaining to do my friend."
"I don't have to explain anything to you Aragorn, you're not my father."
Legolas stubbornly tucked his hand back beneath his folded arms, quite happy to play the role of a stubborn child in this conversation.
"No I might not be but I'm sure your father would have a thing or two more to say than I do on the matter."
"Stop treating me like a child Aragorn, I am far older than you. Besides, father has already consented to the union."
Now that, Aragorn had not been prepared for. This did not come across as something he thought the King of Mirkwood would agree to, and so swiftly at that. But then Aragorn was looking at the matter from a completely different perspective then an Elf would.
Legolas waited patiently for Aragorn to think it all through, he could only hope his friend would put aside his doubts and celebrate this with him. This, however, Legolas decided was wishful thinking, as Aragorn's mood seemed to have altered little.
"I'm sorry Legolas it's just…I'm not sure I understand."
"What's there to understand? I don't see why you can't just be happy for me Aragorn."
"Because she's…"
The King paused and looked away, refusing to make eye contact with his friend; afraid to see the hurt his unspoken words were sure to have caused him.
"Go ahead, say it Aragorn."
He sounded more wounded then Aragorn had dared to think and now he wished he'd never let the hateful thought from in his mind. He certainly wasn't going to finish the sentence out loud.
"You are uncomfortable because she's a Roc."
Legolas stood so quickly that his chair was flung violently behind him and Aragorn watched it as it clattered across the empty room.
"I had thought you past this Aragorn. It seems I was wrong, I was wrong to think you'd ever accept her or them. You're no better than the Men you govern King Elessar. It would seem I was wrong about a lot of things."
Aragorn looked up in time to see his friend disappear out the door. Not the one leading to the halls to take you to the sleeping quarters though, as Aragorn had thought he would, but the main one that led back out into the Citadel.
The King hung his head and pressed his hands to his face. Legolas was right about him thinking wrongly of him. He could accept these creatures as allies in a war and had pushed himself to accept Aquila as Legolas' friend, even as a temporary lover, but as his wife?……This was too much to ask.
Pandion and Sphenurus were completing the task of landing all the Rocs in a very efficient manner and seemed to have the operation down to a fine art. They had landed over half of the Roc army and those already on the ground were mingling about, admiring the grand city of Minus Tirith but always aware they were in a city of Men.
They both turned their heads as they heard the doors to the king's halls slam shut with a deep, hollow bang. Both wore expressions of shocked confusion as Legolas strode past, completely ignoring them, and rushed off down the stairs leading from the Citadel. Clearly bound for somewhere in the city but where exactly they had no idea.
Elrond had noticed as well and was about to go after the Prince when he thought it best to give him some time to himself before he confronted him. He decided it was to both his and Legolas' best interests if he gave the other Elf time to cool down and think things over. Clearly something Aragorn had said upset him greatly.
"I guess Aragorn didn't take the news very well then." Sphenurus stated, almost mater-of-factly.
"You don't think this is about Legolas' proposed marriage to Aquila do you?" Pandion sounded concerned.
"What else would it be about?" Elrond added.
Pandion sighed in disappointment.
"I suppose I just hoped it wasn't. It'll only serve to upset Aquila if she finds out. Just when things were looking up for her too, like she might finally be free from her duties to Cirus and therefore Cirus itself."
"Good for you too." Elrond stated simply.
Pandion tipped his head to the side and looked enquiringly at the Elf.
"How so?"
"Well if Aquila and Legolas are wed then you need not marry again as she will be having children so you need not."
"Unfortunately any heirs conceived by the royal couple would be Mirkwood's rightfully. I would be left in an even worse position than before. Now it is absolutely essential I take another female for a mate and father heirs for our kingdom as Aquila's children will belong to Legolas' kingdom."
"So you find yourself even more trapped than before Prince Pandion." Sphenurus finished for him.
Pandion merely nodded solemnly before he forced a smile as he spoke.
"But she is free now, free forever, and that is more than I could have ever hoped for her."
Elrond desperately wanted to say something to comfort the Roc, impart some wisdom to him or find some solution to this unfair problem but he was at a loss. So he wrapped his arms about the Prince from behind and placed a soft kiss on his temple. Suddenly a thought occurred to Elrond and an idea began to form in his mind. There were a few things that needed to be sorted out before he could be certain it would work but if he could just bring the Roc this simple piece of happiness it would be worth the effort.
First he needed to find Legolas and try, to the best of his ability, to smooth things over between him and Aragorn. A task that he was confident shouldn't be too hard, neither was famous for holding a grudge and friendships had suffered through greater hiccups than this over the years.
So he released Pandion from his grasp and started off after Legolas. Sphenurus and Pandion watched him disappear off down the stairs with a small amount of confusion but both shrugged their shoulders and turned their attention back to the remaining few thousand Rocs still yet to land.
Pandion felt Sphenurus' eyes upon him and finally turned to see the other Roc grinning at him with a rather smug look on his face.
"What?" The Prince sounded annoyed, but that's what Sphenurus had expected.
"Care to fill me in on what seems to have transpired between you and the Lord of Imladris?"
Pandion groaned in sheer annoyance and wished feveritivly that he could somehow wipe the smug grin off Sphenurus' face. He knew better than trying to dodge the topic, when it came to Sphenurus he was notorious for getting the information he wanted, when he wanted.
So, with some reluctance and some extra prompting from Sphenurus, Pandion told the other Roc all that had happened to him since he'd returned to Middle Earth.
It didn't take Elrond long to find Legolas. Even in the enormous city the Elven Prince was fairly well known and it only took Elrond a few rounds of questioning before he was pointed in the direction of one of the city's taverns. Why the Prince thought he could drink his problems away he did not know, even if he could it would certainly be a most expensive activity. The Elven Lord settled finally settled on the notion that Legolas had simply chosen a tavern as it was the easiest place for one to loose ones self. You could sit for an entire night and have no one ever notice you. It would seem that Legolas just wanted to become lost.
Well Elrond had allowed him that luxury for at least an hour or two, now it was time he was found and forced to confront his problems, or as it were, problem. He meandered his way through the city's streets till he found the small pub, tucked away down a darkened alley. Exactly the kind of place you could loose yourself, even if you were the Prince of Mirkwood.
Stooping slightly as he entered the dimly lit building Elrond realized he probably should have dressed his robes down slightly before coming but it was too late for that now. He'd just have to put up with drawing attention to himself. A few men looked up as he approached the bar but quickly went back to ignoring him once they deemed him of no interest.
A quiet word with the bar tender pointed him towards a corner of the room, right up the back, swathed in darkness, where a lone flaxen haired Elf sat stooped over a pint of ale.
Legolas stared down into the depths of the amber liquid and tried to loose himself in it, shutting the noise around him out and concentrating on nothing but finding some sort of solitude in his mind. His thoughts drifted and he found himself staring not at the bottom of the glass but at his own reflection, mirrored at the liquids surface. He blinked in surprise as another face appeared beside his own. Turning his head slightly to the side he found Elrond standing beside him and sighed heavily.
"How did you……"
"Find you?" Elrond beat him to the end of his own sentence.
"Yes." Legolas responded dryly as Elrond sat down next to him.
"For one to disappear Legolas one must go somewhere where no one knows your name and unfortunately, for people like you and me, there are very few places in Middle Earth where we aren't know."
"Then I guess I'll never be able to hide then will I?"
"What exactly is it you're trying to hide from?"
There was a long moment of silence before Legolas rubbed his hands down his face and admitted his despair.
"I don't know. I just……I needed to get away."
"Away from Aragorn?"
Legolas looked over at the other Elf in shock but soon realized his method of departure would have made things fairly obvious, even to one not as perceptive as Elrond.
"I don't understand why he can't just be happy for me."
"He does not approve of your proposal to Aquila then?"
"No, far from it in fact. I think he despises the idea, but that's not what upset me. It's why he disapproved of my marrying her that hurt. If he hated her for a reason, a legitimate reason, like she was boorish or irritating or witless or something! Then…then I could understand him disapproving of my choice but do you know why he disapproves Elrond?"
The Elven Lord had a pretty good idea why the King did not wish to see his friend married to Aquila but he also knew the Prince needed to get this off his chest so he calmly shook his head.
"No."
"Because she is a Roc." Legolas looked away as he tried to rein his emotions under control. "He does not wish to see me married to Aquila because she is a Roc, that it. That is his only reasoning, were she an Elf or even a mortal woman he would have been accepting of her."
"Legolas, Aragorn has been your friend for a good many years, I'm sure he just needs some time for everything to sink in."
The Prince opened his mouth to speak but Elrond held up a hand for silence and Legolas closed his mouth obediently.
"I know it shouldn't require him to think it over but I'm afraid it will. You forget all that he has had to put aside and disregard since her arrival here. Give him, and yourself, some time to get over this disagreement then try talking to him again. I cannot guarantee you much but if I've taught that boy anything then he will at least hear you out."
"Thank you Elrond. I think I'd like to be left alone now, if you don't mind."
Legolas had dropped his gaze back to the glass of ale still clutched in his hands. Elrond sighed and shook his head; he supposed some time to himself would do the Elf good. He stood but before he walked away he placed a firm hand on Legolas' shoulder, leaning down he spoke in a hushed tone.
"Do not linger here too long Legolas. You will worry Aquila if she wakes in the morn and finds you have not returned."
Legolas tried desperately to stop the smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth but failed, the tiniest of smiles graced his lips and Elrond smiled warmly at that. He removed his hand from the Elf's shoulder and left the tavern without further word, leaving Legolas to contemplate both his and Aragorn's words to him.
The Elf remained hidden away in the tavern's back corner well into the night. Elrond had to excuse him from dinner and he duly noted the look of worry on Aragorn's face at his friend's absence. It would seem the King was more than aware that he had hurt his friend deeply, perhaps more than he had meant to.
It was only when the bar keep declared the place closed in the early hours of the morning that Legolas mournfully picked himself up and made his way back to the King's halls atop the high cliff the city nestled in.
Aquila's eyes blinked open but it did not feel like dawn. She looked to the window, whose curtains had not yet been drawn, and saw nothing but the dark night sky dotted with the tiny winking light of the stars. So if it was not the onset of dawn that had woken her, what was it?
A wince followed by hissing from a sharp intake of breath sounded from the bathroom, from which poured a soft glowing light. Aquila swallowed hard as it dawned on her that there was someone in there. Her lower lip trembled so she bit down on it to steady her jumpy nerves.
Silently she slid from the bed and retrieved her satin robe to cover her naked body. Once she'd tied it securely about her body she reached for the silken scarf she always kept close at hand now. From it she freed Silmar and clutched it tightly in both her hands.
She then crept on silent feet towards the bathroom. Fighting hard every step to keep her fear under control, unwilling to admit to herself that the attack had affected her to this level. A few more steps and the light pouring from the bathroom's doorway washed up her body as she drew closer.
Her feet touched the cold tiles of the floor, Silmar griped tightly in both hand and poised, ready to strike, while her eyes took in the sight before her. Stooped over the sink was a tall, lithe male with long golden blond hair pulled back from his face using two small braids, a thicker braid ran down the back of his head amongst his long flaxen hair. The sword in her hand fell to her side as she dropped her arms.
"Legolas, you startled me."
Legolas looked up from splashing water on his face and caught her gaze in the mirror. She looked upon his reflection and her mouth fell open as Silmar clattered to the tiled floor, slipping from her grasp as she felt her whole body go numb.
"Legolas!" She cried out and ran to him, grasping his arms tightly.
Legolas turned his face from her and spun out of her grip, refusing to allow her to see his face. Aquila began to tug at the arm of his tunic, trying to get him to face her.
"Legolas please……" She gripped both his arms, though his back was still turned to her, and tried again to turn him. "Please look at me Legolas you're……you're frightening me."
Her last words were barely above a whisper and Legolas heard the sincerity in them and so slowly turned to face her, though he kept his head down. Aquila looked up at him and brought a hand up to his face, slowly forcing him to lift his head.
She gasped and tried to hold back the tears that were welling up in her eyes. Legolas' face was spoilt by dark bruises and deep cuts. His lower lip was split and only just now was the blood beginning to clot over the wound, his right eye was swollen almost shut and darkened to a deep purple by the bruising around it and he suffered a deep laceration above his left temple.
She couldn't hold back the tears as she looked upon her Prince, beaten and broken, and they spilt freely from her eyes, tracing glistening tracks down her pale cheeks. Legolas couldn't look her in the eye, he'd been hoping that he could clean his cuts and slide into bed without her waking. By morning they would mostly have healed due to his natural Elven healing abilities and she would never have to have known but now, now he was sure he'd have to tell her what happened.
Aquila desperately wanted to ask him what had happened, or more likely, who had done this to him. However for the moment she just wanted to make sure that he was ok. Still weeping she pulled him into her arms and enveloped him in a crushing hug.
As she pressed herself to him he couldn't suppress the wince that escaped past his lips. Aquila pulled back slightly and looked up at him in horror, this time he locked eyes with her and in their depth she could see just how much he was truly hurting. He didn't stop her when her hands moved up his torso to lift his outer tunic up over his head. He then stood submissively before her as she undid each of the clasps on his silken tunic and then pushed it back off his shoulders. She gasped as she ran soft, delicate fingers over the many dark bruises coloring his normally pale, toned chest.
Legolas slid a steady hand up her back and carefully pressed her against him, making sure not to hold her too firmly against his tender torso. Aquila sobbed quietly and gently laid her head against his shoulder as he held her loosely in his arms.
"Legolas, what happened to you?"
She didn't lift her head from its place on his shoulder and he did not remove his arms from around her, holding her close gave him an intense feeling of comfort that he was desperate to hold onto in that moment.
"I went into the city to clear my head after I argued with Aragorn over my desire to marry you, and stayed there for most of the night. On my way back though I found myself surrounded and the next thing I knew I was fighting against seven or eight men, just trying to get away. They left me once they were satisfied I had been beaten enough and I came straight back here, hoping to clean my wounds without waking you, they'll mostly be gone by morning."
"Who did this to you?"
Aquila was sounding more mortified the more Legolas told her but she wouldn't let the matter go till she knew exactly what had been done to him and who had done it.
"I……I don't know. They were wearing helmets, those like the ones worn by soldiers of this city, so I know they were Men."
Aquila looked up at the Elf who held her in his arms. One blue eye shone in the bathroom's dim light while the other was barely visible behind bruised flesh. Her eyes filled with fresh tears and Legolas looked down at her in concern.
"It's my fault." She whispered.
"No, no it's not your fault and you mustn't think that."
"But it is Legolas. When have the Men in this city ever been hostile to you before? They must have gotten word of our plans to wed and they beat you because you were taking a Roc into your bed."
She wept harder and tried to pull away from him but he fought against her struggling and pressed her tighter to him, despite the pain it caused him. He rested his chin on the top of her head and rubbed a soothing hand slowly up and down her back until she stopped resisting his hold on her.
"It is not your fault and I will not have you blaming yourself for this. Those to blame are the eight Men who were cowardly enough to gang up on me while I was unarmed."
"But you never go out unarmed."
"I had my knives with me but that was all. There were too many of them I only managed to get one knife out and even that took awhile. I stabbed one in the stomach and I think another will have a nasty wound on their upper arm. That was when they fled, when they realized I was going to fight back more effectively with a weapon."
"You have to tell King Elessar."
"In the morning."
Aquila laid her head back on his shoulder and circled her arms about his waist, just desperate to hold him and comfort him.
"I think I might like to go to bed now." Legolas stated after a few moments. "The wounds will heal themselves over night."
"At least let me bathe you." Aquila requested with a deep desire to be helpful shinning prominently in her yellow-green eyes. "The hot water will help to sooth and heal your bruises."
Legolas couldn't help but smile at her desire to see that he was ok. Really he would have been content to simply crawl into bed and sleep but he supposed a bath would do him good and it would certainly put her mind at ease.
So while he removed the rest of his clothing Aquila ran a nice hot bath and lavished it with scented oils. Legolas lowered himself into the steaming water and had to admit to feeling better in an instant. The smell of lavender filled his nostrils and helped to lull him into a state of near sleep.
Aquila knelt beside the bath and took up a soft sponge, which she dipped into the water. She then trailed the dripping sponge over the Elf's naked torso, paying careful attention to each bruise and ensuring it received proper attention. Legolas sighed contently and let his lead fall back and his eyes slip closed as she continued to wash the ache from his body. He was so happy to have her here with him and he felt certain that he would pass through suffering a hundred times grater than this night if only to have her care for him as she was now. Yes life with her would be blissful and all who apposed would just have to learn to accept or tolerate her as his life mate.
To be continued…