Disclaimers are in chapter 1.
Special thanks to my beta, Scattered Logic, as always!
Chapter 17: A past revealed…
The walkway was dark as a lone figure strolled up it toward a large brick apartment building. The heels of their shoes clicked on the cement. The lights from the apartments above gave off an orange-yellow glow that was too dim to properly light the walkway.
The figure stepped up to the glass double doors with white lettering that said, 'Trumont Apartments, 576 Attleboro St'. The light that shone over the front entrance of the apartment building revealed a thin young woman with dark wavy hair that extended halfway down her back. She wore a black dress suit with black high-heeled shoes. A small amount of make-up enhanced her green eyes and pale features.
She inserted one of her keys into the lock, opened the left door and stepped inside, letting the door close behind her. She greeted the gentleman at the desk with a smile and ascended two flights of stairs.
The woman hummed as she unlocked her apartment door. The humming and the smile on her face ceased as the door creaked open. All of the lights were on in her apartment and it was deathly quiet.
"Derrick?" she called out and frowned when there was no answer. She closed the door behind her and tossed her keys and small black pocketbook onto the small light brown table by the doorway.
"Derrick, if you're playing a game, it's not funny. I'm sorry that I'm so late. Tam's car broke down and it took forever for Triple A to show up."
Still there was no answer and all that could be heard was the hum of the filter from the aquarium across the room and the sound of the bubbles popping as they rose to the surface of the water.
She wondered if Derrick was even in the apartment. But where would he be well after midnight?
She gave a sigh. He must have gotten the message she had left on the machine that she wasn't coming home directly after work because she was going out with friends and he had decided to do the same. But why did he leave all the lights on? That just didn't make sense.
"My electric bill is going to be sky high if this keeps happening," she mused to herself.
She started across the apartment toward the bedroom, shutting off a few lights as she went. Her feet were killing her from wearing heels all day and all night. Normally, she would come home and change into something a little more comfortable before heading out, but Tammy had picked her up from work and she had not come home until now.
She moved down the hallway, the only place in the whole apartment that didn't have a light on. The floor creaked beneath her and she felt tense for a moment. She shrugged it off as being tired.
Two strong hands grabbed her in the darkness and she screamed. Her first thought was that there was a robber in the house. Her neighbor's apartment had been burglarized a few months earlier. She struggled, until the person shook her hard and she looked into Derrick's blue eyes.
She exhaled loudly. "For goodness sakes, Derrick! Are you trying to give me a heart attack? I called you and you didn't answer." She tried to calm her pounding heart.
"I was in the bathroom..." he told her, his words slurring slightly.
She frowned and tilted her head. "I didn't hear the toilet flush or the door open." Her dark eyebrows furrowed as the smell of alcohol reached her nose and she noticed that his eyes appeared bloodshot. "Have you been drinking?"
"What the fuck do you care? You're never home anyway." His tone was angry, his face was twisted and sinister looking in the darkness of the hallway.
She flinched as this tone. "Derrick? What the hell is wrong with you?" She suddenly felt uneasy.
"What's wrong with me, Kaitlyn? My girlfriend, who I've been so good to, has been out fucking some other guy!"
Kaitlyn's jaw dropped in surprise at his accusation. "What? Is that what you think I've been doing? I've been out with Tammy and Megan," she told him sternly. "Tam stopped by work and picked me up and we grabbed Megan, saw a movie and went out to dinner. I left you a message on the machine this afternoon."
"You've been saying that you've been out with those two idiots a little too much lately. Twice last week and three times this week."
"They're my friends, Derrick. I've known them since college," she explained, even though he already knew that. "Why wouldn't I go out with them every once and a while? You go out with your friends. Why should it be any different for me?" She frowned, not at all pleased that he had been drinking and that he was accusing her of such horrible things.
"I don't really think that you've been out with them. I think that you've been having an affair!" he yelled and he moved forward, leaning his face close to hers. "Who is the son of a bitch? That pansy security officer from the bank that's had a crush on you for ages? That swank guy who owns a yacht that always goes to you when he wants to deposit something? Who is it?" he spat.
"Derrick, there is no one but you. I swear to you," she insisted. "I have no idea what you think is going on. You've been acting a little strange lately. Is everything okay with work? I mean it's strange for you to start drinking. You gave it up because it caused you problems in the past."
She put a hand on her forehead, feeling a headache coming on. This whole situation was so stupid and she prayed it was because he was too drunk to realize what was going on. Perhaps he would go to sleep and wake up and this would all seem like a bad dream to her.
"Look, I'm going to go in the kitchen to make some tea. You're drunk right now and I don't think you realize what you are saying. Why don't you go lie down?"
She moved away from him quickly, not giving him time to respond. She was hurt and alarmed that he would be claiming that she was cheating on him. The thought to do so had never crossed her mind. She loved Derrick and she was very loyal to him. Sure they had disagreements like any couple, but the arguments were never so bad that she would ever consider cheating on him. That just wasn't her nature.
She kicked off her shoes into the corner near the hall closet before she walked into the kitchen. It was a small kitchen, with dark colored cabinets, a cream fridge with a few pictures and magnets to the right and the dark stained table with 4 chairs, place mats and a vase of fresh flowers was to the left.
She walked to the set of cabinets near the microwave and opened one to grab a small white teacup with pink and purple floral patterns on it. Derrick hated those cups and wanted her to get rid of them, but Kaitlyn didn't have the heart to throw them out. Her great aunt, who had received them as a wedding gift eons ago, had given them to her.
She stood on her tiptoes and snatched one of the cups off the shelf. Before she could lower to her heels, a hand grabbed her wrist and the teacup went flying. It shattered as it impacted the nearby wall and fell to the white tile floor in hundreds of tiny pieces.
Kaitlyn reined in her anger and didn't turn to face him, afraid that she might lash out. She forced herself to take a deep breath and remember that he had been drinking. "I know you hate those cups, but was that entirely appropriate?"
Derrick spun her to face him and then shoved her so hard against the wall that some of the framed prints fell to the floor, the glass in their frames breaking.
Kaitlyn felt the air get knocked out of her lungs.
"You lying whore!" Derrick cried out. "You come home...every night... happy and tired. We hardly have sex anymore. I wonder why?"
Kaitlyn's brows furrowed. She took a few quick breaths. "Derrick, stop this! You're frightening me!"
Which was the truth. She was frightened and she had never been frightened of him before.
"We haven't had sex because you haven't wanted to. You haven't asked," she told him truthfully. "You've been a little cold, distant and quiet and you won't tell me what's wrong. Why are you making up this ridiculous situation about me cheating? Go lie down before you do something stupid. You've had too much to drink," she tried to rationalize with him.
The words that came out of his mouth were ones that she would never forget. They were all four-letter words that he knew she hated and that's why he said them.
"You're a lying bitch just like the rest of them!" he finished.
Kaitlyn tried to talk calmly, but her voice shook. "Derrick, I promise you. I wasn't out with a guy and I haven't been with anyone since you and I started dating." Her voice was breaking. She was afraid. More so than she had ever been in her entire life. He had never done this before. Even when he was at his angriest, he had never acted like this.
"I was out with Tammy and Megan you can even ask th-"
Her head whipped back, her hair dancing in the air for a moment from the sheer force of his blow. She raised a hand to her cheek, the flesh still stinging from the impact of his hand.
Kaitlyn's eyes widened in shock. She was in disbelief that this was happening. She and Derrick had always been so happy together and he had never hit her. He was 10 years older than she was, but it had never affected their relationship. He had always been someone she could trust, mentally and physically to never hurt her because he'd been there when other people had not been. What had happened to the man she loved?
"Shut up!" he yelled loudly and he grabbed her and slammed her hard against the wall. Once again the air was forced out of her lungs and she gasped at his actions.
"Shut up, you stupid lying, cheating bitch!" he screamed and he shoved her hard into the wall again. His movements were rough, but not on target due to the alcohol, and instead of grabbing her shoulders as he had intended to, he pushed her face, his hand settling on her mouth as slammed her into the wall.
Kaitlyn felt her head start throbbing and the room looked slightly blurry.
Tears formed in her eyes. This was all so crazy. She had gone out with her friends and had come home to find her boyfriend was a drunken madman. She knew that she had to get away, but her limbs felt so heavy.
It all happened so fast. The drawer opened, and the glint of a large carving knife they used for cutting roasts, made Kaitlyn's body shake. Her heart was already racing so hard that it hurt and she felt like she was going to have a heart attack. She was gasping for breath, tears trailing down her cheeks.
Time seemed to slow down, and all she saw was the knife in his raised hand and the angry, demented look on Derrick's usually handsome face. His dark hair was messy, his clothes were wrinkled. He looked twisted and evil in the faint light coming from the lamp over the steel kitchen sink.
"Derrick…please, put that away. You're frightening me," she tried one last time.
"I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP!" he screamed.
There was only enough time to move her arm in front of her face to protect her as the knife sliced through the air. The sharp blade buried into her arm and she screamed. Blood immediately began to seep from the deep wound that ran between her elbow and her wrist.
Derrick's eyes widened as he saw the red blood and the knife fell from his hand, clattering onto the ceramic tiles of the floor. What had he done? His head hurt and he was so angry, but who was he really angry with? Why couldn't he remember? Surprise and fear crept into his mind.
Kaitlyn sank to her knees on the floor, the cold of the tile unnoticed, as she gripped her arm and watched blood drip down her wrist and puddle on the floor.
She was crying, the tears blinding her as she started to crawl away on her knees. As she passed by the table, something caught her attention and for a moment the pain of her heart and injury was forgotten and all that she knew was white-hot anger.
She took a few deep breaths and rose to her feet, holding a hand over the bleeding wound, while the other hand held two articles of clothing. One was an old T-shirt of hers and the other was a lacy black bra that didn't belong to her.
"It looks like someone else was busy while I was out," she choked and her body began to tremble more violently. She felt nauseous and was too shocked to cry any further.
Derrick didn't say anything; he wasn't even paying attention. He was gripping his head and was shaking it back and forth as if in denial.
"You miserable son of a bitch!" she cried. She threw the clothes at him and ran.
"Kaitlyn, wait, I can explain!" He had noticed her then, when the clothes hit him and he started after her.
She screamed, running to the door.
She tried the handle and wasn't able to get it open. The blood from her arm had made it slick and difficult to turn. She grabbed part of her suit and used it to turn the knob. It opened with a click and she flung the door open, breathing heavily as the world started to spin around her.
Derrick was still coming, swaying as he walked, so she dashed into the hall and threw the door at him. It hit him directly in the face and he fell back onto the carpeted living room floor with a groan.
Kaitlyn ran down the stairs. Things started to spin faster and she felt as if she was going to pass out. She reached for the handrail of the stairs and missed it, tripping, as the world blurred around her. She fell and tumbled down an entire flight of stairs, finally coming to a stop when her body met a wall.
A few feet from the where Kaitlyn fell, a door opened and there stood a middle aged woman with short light brown hair, dressed in a pink bathrobe, her eyes squinting at the light from the hall.
"What in the name of the lord is going on? It's after midnight for goodness sake. All the screaming and-" She stopped talking and gasped when she saw her young neighbor from upstairs lying in a heap against the wall. A puddle of blood was growing slowly around her. "Oh, dear God! Harry! Harry, dial 911!"
Kaitlyn sighed deeply and stopped twisting her hands together. She looked up into the dark sky.
"That was all I remember hearing and then I was suddenly at the hospital. My arm was bandaged and my mom, dad and Megan and Tammy were there around me. It had to be noontime, and I had no recollection of what had happened from when I heard my neighbor until then."
Kaitlyn glanced at Legolas who had been shifting his weight from leg to leg throughout the tale. His brows were furrowed, causing lines to appear on his fair forehead. His lips were parted and he was staring intently into Kaitlyn's face.
"Valar..." he whispered softly. His heart was aching, its beat slightly faster than normal from listening to her story.
He glanced down at the pale jagged scar on Kaitlyn's arm and then directly into her eyes again. He was shocked at what her lover had done to her. The man had accused her of being unfaithful, had harassed her, stabbed her and then the real truth had been discovered. Her lover had been the one to be unfaithful to her.
Legolas did not understand how she could have survived so much trauma. Were she an Elf, she may have died from such heartbreak.
"I had to have countless surgeries and a year of therapy before I had use of my hand," Kaitlyn continued with pain in her voice. "The...ah..." she lowered her head, forcing her tears to hold off. "The knife nearly severed a nerve in my arm. One that allows me to have use of my hand."
A few tears escaped down her cheeks. "I had nightmares for months. I was afraid of the dark. I thought when I was alone in the dark that he would come after me." She laughed but it was not one of joy. "Of course, that never happened. I was being paranoid. He was arrested and held with high bail. But that didn't keep me from thinking he would come." She sniffed loudly.
"I developed a phobia about knives," she told the Elf, her eyes glancing down at the dagger attached to her belt for a moment. "I couldn't see one without freaking out or breaking down. For a long time I had to use a plastic knife to cut my food. It took me a few years to be able to use a real knife again and it took several more to not jump every time I saw one. I still get a little squeamish when I see them."
Legolas frowned as he remembered Aragorn's words about her reaction to the dagger when the Ranger wanted to begin her training. It all made sense now.
"Court was awful. Recounting the whole situation to the judge and jury and having to see him." She crossed her arms, pulling the cloaks more firmly over her, and began running her hands up and down her arms as if she were cold.
"They sentenced Derrick to 5 years in jail for attempted murder. He got out in a year and a half and had 6 months of community service." Her voice was shaking worse than it had been when she had recounted how Derrick had stabbed her.
Legolas' hand found its way to her shoulder and he squeezed her gently.
Kaitlyn felt more tears roll down her cheeks. "My mom and dad, Megan and Tammy were great. I couldn't have made it through that without them. They helped me through the depression, the surgeries and the...a...the therapy." She glanced up at Legolas for a moment who had not taken his crystal blue eyes off of her.
The Elf appeared concerned and upset. His eyebrows were furrowed, creating more lines on his fair forehead. And his eyes, they held so much sorrow. Kaitlyn knew that he could sense her pain. She wondered if it had been right to subject him to this.
Legolas waited patiently, beckoning for her to continue with his silence and his intense gaze.
"Life started to return to normal. I moved to a new apartment on the other side of town and was transferred to a bank at a different location in the same company. I was starting over and it felt good." She lowered her head.
"But my hope and freedom didn't last long."
She paused when she felt Legolas' fingers begin to rub her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.
"He started coming around. I don't know how he found me. But he'd call me and leave messages on my answering machine saying that he was sorry. He cried and said it had all happened so fast. She was someone from work and they went out for coffee and a few drinks and he brought her back to the apartment and...he...he slept with her."
The tears were blinding her now, leaving wet stains on her cheeks.
"He wanted another chance because he said that he loved me and it had been a terrible mistake. The whole thing had been. When I didn't return his calls, he became angry and would threaten me and blame me for ruining his life. No one wanted to hire him or date him and it was all my fault."
She dabbed at the tears in her eyes, willing them to go away, but they wouldn't.
"My dad got a restraining order against him and we moved far away as quickly as we could. I had to leave Tammy and Megan and my town behind and I moved up to Otter Lake with my parents and got a small place not far from them. I buried myself in work, drawing and walking in the woods. I did everything I could to push the past as far away from my mind as I could. Including forgetting about Tammy and Megan. I wouldn't write to them or call them because I was afraid that Derrick would find out where I was through them by accident. I had to go to a new college and make new friends. My life changed." She gave a deep sigh and when she spoke again her voice broke. "He...he took... everything but my parents from me." Her lower lip began to tremble.
All of her concealed emotions from the last several years finally made their way to the surface, and Kaitlyn lost any self-control that she had left. She buried her face into her hands, allowing the tears to fall freely.
She felt the hand on her shoulder move to her neck and then down her arm to her side. The cold of the night seemed to diminish and she realized that two strong arms now encircled her.
Part of her wanted to fight the embrace but she didn't, she couldn't. She was tired of fighting and tired of hiding what she felt. She removed her hands from her face and pressed her cheek against the soft suede of Legolas' tunic, accepting the warmth and protection that he offered her. She wrapped her arms around his waist, clutching his tunic within her hands. She cried out her fear, her loss, and her frustration in heaving sobs that wracked her small body.
Legolas stood quietly for a long time and held her, his arms tightening around her. His heart felt ready to burst with the sadness, the anguish, the fear, anger and heartbreak that filled it. These emotions he felt radiate from Kaitlyn and mingle with his own feelings.
"U-chiratha le si egor naegra le ad," Legolas whispered into her ear. He will not find you here or cause pain to you again. He wished that he could tell her that she was safe here, but that was not true. Not while Sauron's army gathered. No one would be safe until the One Ring was destroyed.
Her sobs faded after a while and she hiccuped, trying to force herself to stop. She pulled back, flushing with embarrassment.
Legolas released her, watching as she rubbed at her red swollen eyes with her hands and sleeves, wiping the tears away. He reached for the cloak he had lent her, which was falling off her shoulders and repositioned it.
"Goheno nín," Forgive me, she whispered brokenly.
"Whatever for?" Legolas asked in astonishment.
"For breaking down like that. I thought that I was stronger than this."
Legolas could hardly believe his ears. He gripped her gently, his hands resting on her shoulders. "You are strong, Rodwen. Stronger than I believe you realize." His eyes bored into her face, waiting for her to look up at him, but she did not.
"This man hurt you terribly. Both emotionally and physically and yet you persevered. You continued the journey of life and did not give up when it could have been so easy to." One of his hands slid down her arm and his fingers began to lightly trace her scar. She had revealed it to him when she had first begun her story and he had glanced at it on more than one occasion.
"You must not allow him to hurt you any longer by thinking of him." His warm breath touched her face and she glanced up to look into his eyes.
Legolas had not realized the extent of hurt this young mortal woman had felt. She had hidden it from him well and this astounded him. He realized how deeply she had been forced to bury these feelings, just so that she could continue living.
She nodded and sniffled. "I know. I keep telling myself that." Her eyes brimmed with moisture once again.
His thumb brushed away fresh tears that escaped from her eyes and had begun to roll down her cheeks. "You should listen to your own advice." He smiled gently, removing his hand from her face and she laughed through her tears.
He lowered his eyes and Kaitlyn realized that he had not removed his other hand from her arm.
His fingers once again traced her scar, the feel of it alien beneath his fingertips. His people did not carry such blemishes. But she was mortal, human, and she would carry hers for the rest of her life. It was a silent reminder of her hardships.
Kaitlyn forced herself not to shiver as he touched her. His flesh was smooth and warm, a stark contrast to the chilly night.
"As terrible as this was for you, I sense that it has made you much stronger." His fingers continued their slow movements.
She watched his intrigued expression, as he seemed to memorize her injury. It had started off as child-like, which she found interesting, considering that he was nearly 3,000 years old. But then she saw concern seep into his eyes once again.
She swallowed, suddenly feeling uncomfortable as he glanced up at her. Whether he knew it or not, his stare was sometimes too intense to hold.
"I regret that things did not turn out well with you and...Derrick," Legolas whispered. It was difficult for him to think the name of her lover, never mind say it. It was a good thing the man was not here with her, because he would surely be dead.
Kaitlyn gave a deep sigh. "It wouldn't have worked out anyway. I was just too blind to realize that. They say that love is blind." She lowered her head and pursed her lips before she looked up at him again.
"He wanted to stay in the city and I wanted to live in the country. He didn't want children and I wanted to settle down and have a family. We were too different."
She shrugged. "I'll never have to see him again..." she realized aloud. "Because I'm here...and I'm far away from all that and..."
Her expression suddenly took on a sad appearance and Legolas knew that she was thinking of how much she missed her family.
Without hesitation, he stepped forward and put his arms around her, pulling her into an embrace. She hugged him tightly, pressing her cheek against his chest, realizing that his tunic was still damp from her tears. His silky blond hair tickled her face and she sighed. The feel of his warm solid body against hers was a comfort she desperately wanted, as was his friendship.
After a few moments, Legolas stepped back and released her.
"Thank you for listening to me and for being there when I needed someone." She reached for one of his hands, both of which had fallen to his sides. She squeezed it gently, thinking of how many times she had done that to Brian when he had comforted her.
But she had never told Brian about her past. She had been afraid that he would have walked away from her and thought she deserved it or some crazy notion such as that. She did not feel that way with Legolas. She trusted him completely and felt safe with him for reasons she could not explain.
"You're a true friend, Legolas and I couldn't imagine being here without you," she told him truthfully.
Legolas smiled gently, his heart emptying itself of hurt and filling with warmth and love for a friend. "I am honored that you would choose to discuss your past with me. Especially, when it is one that has hurt you so greatly. I will always be here to listen to anything you wish to tell me, Rodwen."
She nodded and sniffed, feeling better already. It was as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her chest and she could breathe normally again.
Legolas watched her for a moment, feeling her pain lessen, and he was reminded of how strong mortals could be. He sometimes forgot, but with individuals such as herself and Aragorn, they continued to remind him.
"You should sleep," Legolas told her softly.
She shook her head. "I couldn't possibly now."
Legolas nodded, understanding that her rest would be plagued with old memories.
They were still standing and gently Legolas beckoned her to join him on the grassy ground. He held one of her hands within his, the fingers of his hand gently stroking the back of hers.
Legolas continued to stroke her hand as they settled on the damp, dew covered ground. Kaitlyn's skin was rougher than Elvish skin, but not overly so. It was smoother from that of an orc or a dwarf. He found something soothing in comforting her for it also comforted him. They sat quietly for a moment and when he spoke, his words sounded loud to his ears.
"You have told me something important because you trust me and I wish to do the same."
Her eyes lit up and she smiled.
He smiled in return, continuing to touch her hand.
"I wish to tell you of my past, of my home and family, but you must promise me that you will not treat me differently once I have told you."
"I promise. I would never treat you differently," she told him and she wondered what would have him so worried.
"You know that I am from Mirkwood and that I am the son of Thranduil."
She nodded. Inside her excitement bubbled. She was interested to know about Mirkwood and it seemed he wished to speak to her about it.
"You know that my mother died when I was young, but you do not know of my heritage for it is one I would rather be without. It is one I would often like to forget."
Kaitlyn's eyes didn't leave Legolas' face. Her interest was already piqued and he had just begun his tale.
"You once asked why Gimli and I did not get along."
She nodded, remembering the day she had asked him.
"It is not merely because Elves and Dwarves are different. Gimli and I have a particularly strangled past. My father captured his father and imprisoned him within the dungeons in our caves."
Kaitlyn frowned. "Why would your father do such a thing?"
"Because he does not tolerate outsiders, especially Dwarves. My people have lived in solitude since the last War of the Ring. Our beautiful woods grew dark and my people put forth their trust in other races less and less as time passed. We did not venture out into the world, not even to see others of our kind."
"That's why you'd never seen Lothlorien before," she realized aloud.
He nodded slowly. "Aye. Though I wanted to see it. I wanted to see all the places my people sang about from the days of old, but my father would not allow me to."
Kaitlyn frowned.
"So you understand, my father is said to be cold and ruthless due to what happened to my grandfather. My grandfather, Oropher, was killed in the war of the ring. He and many elves died. My father is said to have been witness to it all and it changed him and made him bitter. My mother... I've always been told I was much more like her, even though I resemble my father in appearance."
The edges of Legolas' lips curled slightly into a smile as he thought about his mother. "She was free spirited, a niece of Lord Celeborn, who had ventured from Lothlorien and had met my father well before the war of the Ring. She had the most beautiful voice and her eyes, they shone like the stars." His smile faded abruptly. "She never agreed with remaining in Mirkwood, but she did so because she loved my father."
"After I was born, she grew restless. She did not want to be kept away in the forest, never to see the world again. When she received an invitation to visit her Uncle, against my father's will, she and a small party of elves departed our home." Legolas took a deep breath and exhaled.
"They were ambushed by orcs and she was brought back dead." Legolas lowered his head, his blond hair spilling on either side of his neck.
Kaitlyn gasped when she sensed his anguish. The death of his mother still hurt Legolas badly. He seemed to have no shame in projecting those feelings.
Tears formed in her eyes "Legolas, I'm so sorry." She squeezed his hand.
"I was 12 and it is said by my father's most trusted friends that I am the reason that he did not fade. Her death was difficult for us both and it disappointed and hurt him when I grew to become much like her." Legolas peered into Kaitlyn's eyes and the tears he saw there touched him.
"Adventure called to my heart and I desired to follow it. But my father would not let me leave. He feared that what happened to my mother would happen to me."
"I can understand his apprehension, Legolas. He had just lost your mother. Could you have imagined what would have happened to him if he lost his son, too?" Kaitlyn asked, her brows furrowed at the thought.
Legolas nodded and lowered his head. "Aye, some part of me understands that now. But then I did not," he gave a sigh and began to trace the outer edges of Kaitlyn's fingers.
"Thousands of years later, the ring was said to be found and the creature, Gollum, who had once owned it, was captured by a young Ranger from the north and brought to Mirkwood for safekeeping. The Ranger was a Dunedain, a descendant of Numenor. I learned that he was human, but despite that he and I became friends very quickly."
"Aragorn," Kaitlyn realized.
"Aye. Aragorn was young, but had traveled and he told me of the world and of the other Kingdoms of Elves. I longed to go with him to Rivendell when it was time for him to leave, but my father arranged for me to guard the creature. I was angry with him but I did as I was instructed."
Legolas looked away into the night for a moment as he gathered his thoughts, and then at Kaitlyn. "We held him for many months and he was not as difficult to guard as we thought he would be. A group of Elves treated him kindly and allowed him to breathe fresh air and stroll beneath the trees with them on a day that I was not on watch. Gollum went into a tree, leading the Elves into a trap and they were all killed by orcs. Except for Gollum who escaped."
Kaitlyn frowned. "You could have been one of them..." she realized with horror.
Legolas nodded slowly. "Aye, and I came to regret what happened. I felt that if I had been there perhaps things would have been different."
Kaitlyn squeezed his hand again, tighter this time. She knew that he felt guilty. Whether from Gollum escaping or from not dying like the others, she did not know.
"They might have been different for you. You might have been killed," she told him.
Legolas looked into her green eyes and saw her concern. He covered their hands, which were joined, with his free hand.
"Istan," he whispered. I know. He sighed. "My father realized that he could not shelter me. The world was angry and dark and he could not hide me away from it. He knew I was a skilled archer, the best in the Kingdom and that I could protect myself. When he discovered my love for archery as an elfling, he encouraged me and had me train with the best archers."
Kaitlyn smiled, imaging a young Legolas training. Running through the woods with his bow and arrows.
"Months passed after the horrible escape and Lord Elrond sent word to all Kingdoms to meet for a council. My father surprised me when he ordered me and two of his advisors to go."
"That must have been a difficult decision for him."
Legolas nodded, realizing it must have been difficult for his father to watch his only child depart.
Kaitlyn tilted her head as something dawned on her. First was that Aragorn had told her about the council meeting. He had told her that was how many of the Fellowship met. But something else nagged at her. It was how Legolas' father had advisors.
"Your father must be a very important Elf in Mirkwood. He seems to have a lot of power," she told him.
Legolas nodded. "He does," he agreed and he paused. "For he is my King."
Kaitlyn's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "King? Your father is your king? Then that makes you..."
Legolas smiled sadly, seeing the recognition in her startled eyes. "The prince," he answered for her.
"...You...I..." she suddenly lowered her head, her hair falling like a curtain in front of her face as she bowed. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She felt as if she was meeting the President or the Queen of England.
"Daro i !" Legolas told her sternly. Stop that! "Do not bow to me."
"But, your highness," she said, her voice shaking. She had been traveling with Legolas all this time and he had never told her that he was a prince!
"Do not call me that." Legolas frowned. He had feared that something like this might happen. "You promised me that you would treat me no differently," he reminded her.
"But that was before I knew you were royalty." She kept her eyes lowered, suddenly unable to look him in the eye.
Legolas frowned at her actions. "I may have been born into a royal family, but I do not wish to be treated as a prince. I never have."
"But why?" He must have been born into wealth and privilege.
"Because it is not in my nature."
"Just because you don't want to be a prince that doesn't stop you from being one." She lowered her head further; wondering if how she was talking to him was inappropriate.
"Nay, but that does not stop me from knowing that I do not want to be one!" he told her, his voice raising in volume.
Kaitlyn heard his bitter tone and she suddenly realized why he felt the way he did. At home Legolas must have been forced to act a certain way. With power and privilege came responsibility, as well as a loss of freedom that common people took for granted. He was like a celebrity that couldn't hide from the photography flashes of the media or the tabloids. His every move must have been watched or studied. It must have been frustrating for someone who had never asked for such a title to begin with.
"I am an Elf and simply wish to be treated like one," he told her softly. "I breathe the same air that you do. I eat the same food and share the same earth. I am equal to you or Gimli or the Hobbits."
Kaitlyn nodded slowly, her eyes still downcast.
"None other than Aragorn and Gimli know who I am. It is not wise to tell strangers our status. It could be dangerous. Since you now hold this knowledge, I would ask that you keep it to yourself."
"I promise," Kaitlyn replied.
He frowned at how small her voice sounded. And she still would not look at him. He worried that perhaps he had frightened her.
Legolas reached for her chin and lifted it so that he could look into her eyes.
"I trust you much like you trust me." He leaned in toward her. "I spoke to you because I felt, as my friend, it was your right to know."
"I appreciate that," she told him honestly.
Legolas could see that she was hesitant to hold his gaze.
"I do not want you to treat me differently because of the family I was born into. I see you as my equal. I hope that you see me equal, as well." He removed his hand from her chin and held it out toward her.
She looked at his hand hovering in front of her and slowly placed her hand in his. She felt the warmth of him as his fingers closed around hers. She looked into his crystal blue eyes, then at his smooth creamy skin, his perfect nose and lips. Her eyes roamed, taking in his long straight, blond hair, and his lithe, but strong body.
This was Legolas. He was Prince Legolas to his people, but to her she was still Legolas who could fire a bow with deadly accuracy. He was the same Legolas who had begun to teach her Sindarin and he was the same Legolas that she had trusted enough to speak to about her past. After hearing about his family and his own hardships, she trusted him even more so. A title that he did not wish to carry was something she could easily ignore.
"I do see you as my equal," she told him truthfully.
Legolas smiled at her words, but it was short lived. Kaitlyn looked exhausted, her eyelids now fighting to remain open and her body was slumped and no longer erect. He feared she would be too weary to run the following morning. "It is late and you must rest. We have more traveling to do tomorrow."
Kaitlyn frowned. All this talking about the past had made her forget about the future.
"Istan. Le hannon, mallen calad." I know. Thank you, golden light. "For everything," she added in the common tongue.
"Mallen calad?" he questioned, his eyebrows raising in surprise.
She smiled. "Yes. Your nickname."
Legolas grinned. "You have given me the nickname, 'Golden Light'?"
Her smile widened and her cheeks reddened slightly. "Yes, because that's what you are to me. Mallen calad nin ned lû o fuin." My golden light in a time of darkness.
Legolas' grin widened. His heart sang loudly with joy. Kaitlyn had told him of her past, had accepted his and now she had nicknamed him. He squeezed her hand in glee and she squeezed his in return.
"Come, Rodwen. Before Aragorn worries anymore than I am certain he already is."
She nodded and he helped her to her feet.
Aragorn watched as Kaitlyn and Legolas returned. He had not seen them holding hands, but he knew that something had happened between them other than mere idle conversation. They both looked content and very relaxed with each other instead of nervous or quiet.
Aragorn watched as Legolas crouched beside Kaitlyn as she lay down and he pulled his cloak more firmly around her. The Elf then stood, watching over her and already enforcing his duty as protector.
The Ranger gave a soft sigh and turned his eyes away from them.
To be continued…
Oh, look at that, no horrible cliffhanger. : )
I know many of you had ideas about where Kaitlyn's scar came from. I'm interested to know if anyone was close with their guesses. Let me know when you review and be honest!
Once again due to time, I've been unable to comment as much as I would like to. However I would like to thank the following people for reviewing:
Ellie101, Horsewoman, Blue Angel Samui, Yostamaca, yulia, cymoria, KageMiko, SilverPhoenix101, dragon-femme-fatale, BrokenFae, Crecy, Hikage Kitsune, Jester 3 (Elf candy, LOL!!!), Kaimee, leggylover4ever, YueMichiruNaragisawaMiko, skin-deep-71.
My apologies if I missed anyone!
