The Power of Love
Disclaimer: I own nothing of J.R.R. Tolkien's and in no way mean any disrespect towards him in the process of writing this story. All characters except those created by me belong wholly and fully to J.R.R. Tolkien.
AN/ It has taken me a long time to finish this chapter. I started this story knowing who Araviniel would end up with. As the story continued and progressed I fell in love with the character of Tatharion. Each of them, Legolas and Tatharion, affected her in a different way. Tatharion had been her support and strength where Legolas had been her inspiration and more of the emotion in the relationship. One fueled her desires where the other gave her something to fall back on. One pushed her to her limit where the other remained a rock for her while she found herself. The two were completely different except for their love of her. This chapter makes the choice of destiny for Araviniel and she is faced with a decision; remain with her first love and live a peaceful life, forever content, or join a new love and explore the endless possibilities. Daring or a safe-player? Which shall she chose to be?
Chapter 15: Destiny's choice
Legolas remained quiet as he sat with Silvegil. The elf was strange but comforting. As time wore on he had stopped himself many times from finding the couple in the woods. His soul ached with longing and jealousy and he felt the deep passion inside him. What had he ever done to even give her a reason to leave Tatharion after all? Were those few days in the palace nothing but fun with friends? Why should she leave the one who had loved her a lifetime's worth for someone who had loved her only for a few weeks?
He grew harder as time wore on and inside he told himself that if he did not come to grips with her rejection now it would be harder for him when she said it outright. His thoughts drifted to the soundless nights he had spent tortured in his own bed with constant thoughts of the daughter of dawn. He felt betrayed by her. First she led him to believe she had feelings for him and then she rejected him.
Legolas closed his eyes and pictured her standing before him. All he wanted to do was hold her, touch her, and have her. Suddenly she turned from him and faded away into the arms of another, his eyes flew open. But he could not hold her, touch her, have her, and love her, for she was unattainable. Nothing he could ever do....nothing he could ever say....would ever bring the elleth of the palace back.
Silvegil's voice pierced through him, "You should not torture yourself Prince. Only pain comes from that. She has made her choice I think, though it may not be as you think. She shall make the right choice even though she has doubts."
Legolas smirked and said roughly, "Oh I believe she has made her choice. Soon you shall hear cries of pleasure from the woods. We both know she would wed any elf who could quench her desires. She flitters from one to the next, leading them on in an attempt to have them all. And who better to entice then the Prince of Mirkwood?"
Silvegil grabbed Legolas's forearm and Legolas was forced to look into the pewter eyes of vengeance.
"I should slit you throat for such words if not that she loved you. I can't possibly imagine her caring for you but yet she does. In thought you may think yourself wise but I see you as a spoiled royal elfling who has yet to learn not all things are given for free. EARN her trust. Don't pretend to BUY it. If she heard your words she would be shocked to find the evil that I knew laid behind your innocence."
Legolas pulled free of Silvegil and rose from his seat, stalking off into the dark expanse of the looming trees, standing witness to the comings and goings of elven life. His back was strait but inside his soul was curled. Had he really said those things about Araviniel? Did he believe them? No. He was angry at himself for falling for her and searched for someone to blame.
Suddenly Legolas stopped. There, in front of him stood Tatharion. He walked toward Legolas and faced him. His face was tense and Legolas could see coldness in his eyes.
"She loves you. I will not stand in the way of that love. What we had was not love, it was security. She needs security..."
His eyes wandered and Legolas could have sworn he saw a broken soul beneath the green expanses of his lifeless eyes. Tatharion's blonde hair slid over his right shoulder as he continued. His eyes met Legolas's and they locked.
"Do me a favor?"
Legolas nodded, not sure what to expect.
"Watch over her for me and don't hurt her."
He then walked off and Legolas stood silently. In his own way Tatharion had just given him permission to be with Araviniel without resentment. His heart quickened. Don't hurt her? He already had, in so many ways. Why had Tatharion done that? Why would he give up the one he loved?
Legolas struggled with his emotions as he continued his walk. It wasn't long before he came into the small clearing where Araviniel was standing. Her red-blonde hair blew behind her as the wind picked up underneath her. Her eyes searched the heavens and he felt something stir inside him. A longing so deep and unquenchable, a desire so strong it hurt, grasped him as he stood in the presence of Araviniel.
He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. His breathing became uneven and his heart was slamming inside of him. She turned.
Araviniel met his crisp and cold blue eyes, alive with passion, and her heart leaped. She swallowed and took an unsteady breath. Was this an answer to her new problem? Had the Valar sent him here right now to show her the way? After all, Tatharion had told her to make her choice.
Right then and there, beneath the whispering trees and the singing wind, Araviniel gazed into the ice blue eyes of Legolas Greenleaf, and she found her answer. Inside of his eyes she saw his soul, broken with despair and hopelessness of never fully having her. She saw love and kindness, a gentleness that she never fully found in anyone. Oh how different from the hate and cruelty of CĂșdir! Legolas' fire fueled her own and she found herself taking one hesitant step towards him.
The moonlight shone down on him and he licked his dry lips, taking a step closer to her. She seemed, to him, like a frightened deer, ready to bolt, yet willing to stay. He came closer to her until he stood in front of her. Her fern green eyes gazed into him but then escaped to the ground. She stood before him, waiting. His heart was beating faster and he noticed her frightened movements. Her eyes avoided him and she wrung her hands nervously
Legolas smiled and, putting his hand under her chin, pulled her head up gently. A tear slipped from her green eyes and she smiled slightly at him. He tilted his head and leaned into her, his lips meeting hers in a passion filled kiss.
Araviniel didn't respond at first but after a few seconds she closed her eyes and deepened the kiss. She whimpered against him and his arm snaked around her waist. Suddenly Araviniel pushed away from him.
Legolas stared at her as she back up a few steps. Her breathing was uneven and he saw, to his delight, that he had an overwhelming effect on her. She looked back at him and said softly, "Why do you love me Legolas? Many nights have my heart troubled over this thought and I have come to no conclusion."
He sighed and released any hope of continuing before explaining to her his love.
"You are beautiful and kind. Inside you bear the strength of a queen and carry the burden as well. You have...done something to me...touched something inside me and I can no longer bear to be a part from you."
He stepped close to her and ran his hand down her cheek. "I love you because you fill a part of me that has remained empty since I first knew love. You complete me."
He finished with a sense of completion and contentment.
Araviniel smiled and looked deeply into his eyes. "What now?"
The question sent shivers through him and he smiled at her. He closed the distance between them and picked her up, bridle style. He set her down on the ground and leaned over her. "Now I show you how complete we can become."
Tatharion made his way back into the camp site and after throwing a suspicious gesture at Silvegil he climbed the nearby tree. To his dismay he found silent tears run from his violet eyes. He looked up into the heavens and closed his eyes tightly. Nothing would ever be the same. Nothing could ever fill his heart again. He would die knowing the one he loved was in the hands of the one he hated. And he would know that he had planned it that way
Sorrow overtook Tatharion up in his perch. Pain filled him and emptiness consumed him. As his heart died, two lovers found passion in the long grass not far below him. Deep in the soundless night soft moans filled the air and he smiled bitterly. It was finished, the deed that would finally break him off forever from Araviniel, daughter of new dawn, his only love.
He opened his eyes and looked up at the everlasting stars. His heart was in pieces small enough to fit through the eye of a needle and a deep pain filled sorrow overtook him. He shed his tears in the chilly night and held on to the only reason for living. He would complete the quest, even if it was the last thing he had ever done.
While Araviniel and Legolas fulfilled their desires and Tatharion was consumed with grief and pain, Silvegil watched the smoldering embers in the fire. He sighed and gazed at the stars. Nothing, from this point on, would be the same. But he also knew that sorrow was the beginning of joy and pain led to knowledge. He had traveled that path so very many times before. Wounds would heal, time would mend them.
