Part 3.
Disclaimer: I don't own Legolas, Aragorn, Arwen, Middle-earth or anything. I don't claim to be an expert on Middle-earth or Tolkien. I just like writing down unusual ideas that come to mind. I guess that makes me sick and twisted. Oh well.
Thank you for reviewing, and can I just say that the following people need to be read if you haven't already.
JastaElf. My God, what a great writer. Your heart will break. Seriously.
TreeHugger. I ::HEART:: Egla Ash. I so want him to live happily ever after.
Ithilien: Wow. Just reading her latest chapter brought tears to my eyes. Of course I was already crying from JastaElf's chapter 3 of her latest, so it really was a slippery slope downwards anyway, but still. Great.
…………….
"I want my things." Legolas knew he sounded petulant, but at this point he really didn't care. "It has been six days that I have been trapped in this gilded prison, and I am tired unto death of it. I want my things."
Valda looked up from the sewing in her lap, and nodded to Arnlaug. The man cleared his throat and shifted in his seat in front of the fire, embarrassed and ill at ease. "The King has forbidden that you should have anything that would remind you of your old life. Once your position is strengthened by the conception of an heir, we might be able to convince him to allow you a few things. Although I doubt that you will ever be allowed your weapons or old clothing."
Legolas blinked for a moment and then looked at the older man sitting across from him. "To what purpose does he do this? Does he think that I will forget who I am, become meek and mild and submit to this contemptible plan of his?" The elf stood smoothly and walked to the window. The wan sunlight did little to warm his pale skin.
The chancellor grunted as he levered himself out of his chair. His footsteps were heavy and slow as he moved to stand nearby. "Whether or not you become meek and mild, or remain the hellion that you are, I fear you will have little choice but to submit. You know as well as I that if he was willing to allow this to be done to you, then he will have little hesitation in forcing his will upon you tomorrow."
Turning from the window, Legolas looked into the eyes of the chancellor. "I would prefer that he force me. It is well known that my kind will not survive such treatment, and I would prefer to die."
With a long-suffering sigh Arnlaug shook his head. "I will not mince words with you. We have talked before many times, you and I, and I know that you are not a fool." The man pushed on a delicate shoulder, forcing the elf to sit on the window seat. "I know that you can see that there is much wrong here. But it is also my hope that this can be repaired."
Legolas became very still, and waited for the older man to continue.
"There is an evil force at work on the king. You know of what I speak." Arnlaug waited for the golden head to give a slight nod. "Yes, you know exactly of what I speak."
The prince absently fingered the band around his neck. "I know of what you speak." "Why have you not taken care of this before? Surely you knew long before now that this was a threat?"
The Chancellor sat heavily next to the elf, his joints protesting. While he looked young, he felt his age more and more with every passing day. "Ask Valda why she wears widow's weeds. Ask how Regin, a commoner, found such a high position in the King's favor. Ask how Gilby got his limp and you will find the same answer to all these questions."
Legolas raised an eyebrow and waited.
Combing his hair back from his face with a hand, the man looked suddenly as old as he felt. "When he first came to us, he was charming and ingratiating. His advice was good, his deeds were better, and his help in many matters immeasurable. It was based on this that he was allowed to spend more time with the Council, and with the King. The Queen did not like him, and would have little to do with him. The King and the rest of us merely thought it was yet another instance of her turning away from humanity." He paused sadly. "She really was not happy here, poor thing. It was like capturing a bright songbird and caging it in a dark corner."
Arnlaug sighed and shifted. His joints were more stiff than he had ever remembered them being before. "He became ever present, working his way into the most important of discussions, the most secret of Councils. The king allowed him to do this, and spent more and more time with him. Those who said anything against this were treated to their faces with all civility and humility, but…" The old man sighed and shook his head again.
Valda's calm voice startled Legolas. She had somehow come to stand next to his elbow without him noticing. Her hands smoothed the white silk of the wedding dress she was finishing. "My husband was a good man. Admittedly, we had made a political marriage many years before, but he did not put me aside when I could not bear him children. I was… fond… of him." Her voice shook slightly. "He was the first to raise objection to the mage. He told the king that the mage had given no reason for his coming here, had given no explanation of from whence he came, and that when inquiries were made, none had memory of him."
"What happened?" Legolas feared he already knew the answer.
Valda's eyes were dark with grief. "The king set Gilby to have his agents find more information, which they never were able to do. It was as if the Mage had never existed before he came to us. Two weeks after the inquiry was complete, my husband was killed. Thrown from his horse." She turned her face so her tears would not fall on the snowy material. "My husband was descended from Rohan stock. He was born to his saddle. There is not a horse that he could not ride." Her voice became bitter. "Yet he was thrown and died with a snapped neck." Tears hung in her lashes, flashing like ice crystals in the cold of the room.
Arnlaug continued. "Regin took the Count's place on the Council. I do not malign him, for he is a good man but a strong supporter of the Mage. Gilby suffered a fall soon after his inquiry, and broke his leg. It still has yet to heal fully and pains him. We feel that it was meant as a warning. There have been many others of the nobility who have looked askance or questioned, and then succumbed to wasting sicknesses or hunting accidents, or even simple things as tainted food. Those who challenge him are soon dead."
Legolas shook his head sadly and spoke. "He has insinuated himself into Aragorn's confidences, and into his mind. I did not recognize it for what it was until it was too late. I thought that I saw his grief for his loss of Arwen, not the presence of another in his mind." He sighed and touched the gem at his throat. "I am bound to this body, to this place. I no longer feel the call of the sea or my people. And I think that the mage is quite happy to have me helpless here. He has other… uses… for me."
Valda sank gracefully to her knees and touched Legolas' elbow. The white cloth pooled around her knees, and she deftly twitched it off the floor. "I know that there is still something left of our king. I see it in his eyes, flashes of him. I know that if we get him away from the mage we can bring him back to us. I know this in my heart."
"Perhaps", said Legolas slowly "one of you could lure the mage away? Trap him? Kill him?"
"No." Arnlaug shook his head. "We have tried. The king will not allow his mage to leave his side for more than a few moments. Any attempt to work against the mage will not only cause Davyn to move, but bring down the wrath of the king."
"This is a problem, but why do you share this with me? I am your prisoner. I have no power in this situation, much less my own." The elf frowned at the chancellor. "Besides, I thought you approved of what has been done here."
The man met Legolas' eyes directly. "I approve of anything that is good for my people. I cannot argue that what was done to you was wrong, but what might result from this may outweigh that wrong. You are in an unusual position and we would be fools if we didn't take advantage of it."
Valda clasped her hands together, as if in prayer. "You see, no one has been able to be alone with the king for any significant amount of time. No one has been able to speak with him alone, or have any interaction alone with him for months." She then moved her hands up and gripped the elf's knee. "But starting tomorrow, there will be one person whom he HAS to be alone. The mage cannot assist him in what needs to be done. And this person is also a friend who can perhaps bring back the king who was."
Legolas blinked numbly as he looked into Valda's upturned face.
She rushed on. "And once you conceive an heir, you are untouchable. The mage could not harm you for fear of damaging the unborn, and the king would not allow harm to come to you because of what you bear. You are in a unique situation, and a powerful one."
Eyes wide with shock, Legolas looked up to the waiting Chancellor. He finally found his voice. It was numb. "You ask too much of me. I cannot do this."
Arnlaug's face darkened. "You MUST do this. The fate of this kingdom rests upon our freeing the king from the influence of the one who controls him. I would ask no less from my own daughter or any maiden who was in this selfsame situation."
"You forget yourself. I am no maiden. I am a warrior and a prince." At the man's raised eyebrow, Legolas continued. "I am imprisoned in a body that is not my own, but my mind is still steadfastly mine and male. The very concept of what you propose sickens me."
"It may sicken you, fair one, but it is a necessary evil." The man leaned forward and lowered his voice. "I will be blunt. Not only must we get the king away from Davyn, we must KEEP him away. That means not only must you do your duty and lay with him, you must encourage him to return to you and stay with you beyond the fundamental completion of the act of getting an heir. You must drive a wedge between the two of them with your body."
"My husband's death will not be in vain, Legolas." With a voice that was so quiet it sounded of the exhalation of breath instead of speech Valda continued, "He will not have died in vain if we can defeat the one who killed him. I want justice, Legolas. I call upon you to bring me justice. It is your duty as one with royal blood."
Head bowed, Legolas shook his head. "No. You cannot ask this of me." His voice sounded weak even to his ears.
"I do more than ask this of you. I DEMAND it of you." Valda stood to glare down at the prince. "Davyn did this to you. And the only way to break free of him is to defeat him at his own game and sever his control of the king." Her face softened. "You have none of your usual weapons to fight the battle with, so you must use the ones that you have been given as a woman. I wager that you will find them more formidable than you now think."
Arnlaug reached over and placed a large hand on the elf's slender shoulder. "Sometimes we must do things that we find loathsome in order to benefit the greater good. The choice is always hard to make, but the end result of a good choice is usually worth the pain. With luck, we can break the bond between the king and Davyn. Once that is done, we can capture him and force him to release you from this spell."
Legolas did not respond. He simply looked from one human to the other with large, haunted eyes, and then turned to look out the window. Tomorrow loomed much closer and he was suddenly very afraid of what the new day would bring.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
The woman in the mirror was very beautiful, Legolas decided. She had been sewn into a flowing white silk gown that embraced every curve with a lovers touch. Her hair was loose and shone in the weak winter sunlight. Valda had placed upon her head an elven style crown made with mithril and gold beaten into the shape of tender spring leaves, and draped over this a translucent veil of the finest silk. The gem at her throat flashed with a life of its own, and even the collar looked becoming, if one could ignore what it really was.
Legolas raised a hand to the woman before him and they touched fingertip to fingertip in the glass. "I will not accept this. I will not agree to this," he told her quietly.
"It does not matter if you agree to this or not. It will happen regardless." Davyn walked up slowly behind the elf. Legolas did not turn but watched him approach in the mirror from over the woman's shoulder. "Gondor does not recognize a female's right to choose her husband, or to do much else, for that matter." The mage continued. He came to stand at one side of the elf and looked appreciatively at the vision before him.
Legolas finally turned to look at him, but still said nothing.
"You are my finest work, you realize. I had never attempted anything of this magnitude before, but you are exquisite." The tight smile never reached Davyn's eyes.
"Why have you done this?" Finally Legolas could speak around the lump in his throat. It came out as a tense whisper.
Davyn moved closer, so close that he could smell the scent of the golden hair. "The magic is leaving Middle-earth. There are so few of your people left and they leave in greater numbers each day. They are taking the magic with them." He leaned even closer. "I can't survive if the magic goes, so I had to capture a little of it for myself. It's perfect, really. I get what I need from you; the king gets what he needs from you. And when you have children, they'll be able to support my needs as well. I can hold out for generations, if I'm careful."
"And what of me?"
"And what of you? We will take, and you will give. There is nothing else to be said of it." The mage's smile finally reached his eyes. "And of course, you cannot speak of this. I have bound you from that as well."
The elf looked sadly back into the mirror. The woman was even more beautiful in her despair.
Disclaimer: I don't own Legolas, Aragorn, Arwen, Middle-earth or anything. I don't claim to be an expert on Middle-earth or Tolkien. I just like writing down unusual ideas that come to mind. I guess that makes me sick and twisted. Oh well.
Thank you for reviewing, and can I just say that the following people need to be read if you haven't already.
JastaElf. My God, what a great writer. Your heart will break. Seriously.
TreeHugger. I ::HEART:: Egla Ash. I so want him to live happily ever after.
Ithilien: Wow. Just reading her latest chapter brought tears to my eyes. Of course I was already crying from JastaElf's chapter 3 of her latest, so it really was a slippery slope downwards anyway, but still. Great.
…………….
"I want my things." Legolas knew he sounded petulant, but at this point he really didn't care. "It has been six days that I have been trapped in this gilded prison, and I am tired unto death of it. I want my things."
Valda looked up from the sewing in her lap, and nodded to Arnlaug. The man cleared his throat and shifted in his seat in front of the fire, embarrassed and ill at ease. "The King has forbidden that you should have anything that would remind you of your old life. Once your position is strengthened by the conception of an heir, we might be able to convince him to allow you a few things. Although I doubt that you will ever be allowed your weapons or old clothing."
Legolas blinked for a moment and then looked at the older man sitting across from him. "To what purpose does he do this? Does he think that I will forget who I am, become meek and mild and submit to this contemptible plan of his?" The elf stood smoothly and walked to the window. The wan sunlight did little to warm his pale skin.
The chancellor grunted as he levered himself out of his chair. His footsteps were heavy and slow as he moved to stand nearby. "Whether or not you become meek and mild, or remain the hellion that you are, I fear you will have little choice but to submit. You know as well as I that if he was willing to allow this to be done to you, then he will have little hesitation in forcing his will upon you tomorrow."
Turning from the window, Legolas looked into the eyes of the chancellor. "I would prefer that he force me. It is well known that my kind will not survive such treatment, and I would prefer to die."
With a long-suffering sigh Arnlaug shook his head. "I will not mince words with you. We have talked before many times, you and I, and I know that you are not a fool." The man pushed on a delicate shoulder, forcing the elf to sit on the window seat. "I know that you can see that there is much wrong here. But it is also my hope that this can be repaired."
Legolas became very still, and waited for the older man to continue.
"There is an evil force at work on the king. You know of what I speak." Arnlaug waited for the golden head to give a slight nod. "Yes, you know exactly of what I speak."
The prince absently fingered the band around his neck. "I know of what you speak." "Why have you not taken care of this before? Surely you knew long before now that this was a threat?"
The Chancellor sat heavily next to the elf, his joints protesting. While he looked young, he felt his age more and more with every passing day. "Ask Valda why she wears widow's weeds. Ask how Regin, a commoner, found such a high position in the King's favor. Ask how Gilby got his limp and you will find the same answer to all these questions."
Legolas raised an eyebrow and waited.
Combing his hair back from his face with a hand, the man looked suddenly as old as he felt. "When he first came to us, he was charming and ingratiating. His advice was good, his deeds were better, and his help in many matters immeasurable. It was based on this that he was allowed to spend more time with the Council, and with the King. The Queen did not like him, and would have little to do with him. The King and the rest of us merely thought it was yet another instance of her turning away from humanity." He paused sadly. "She really was not happy here, poor thing. It was like capturing a bright songbird and caging it in a dark corner."
Arnlaug sighed and shifted. His joints were more stiff than he had ever remembered them being before. "He became ever present, working his way into the most important of discussions, the most secret of Councils. The king allowed him to do this, and spent more and more time with him. Those who said anything against this were treated to their faces with all civility and humility, but…" The old man sighed and shook his head again.
Valda's calm voice startled Legolas. She had somehow come to stand next to his elbow without him noticing. Her hands smoothed the white silk of the wedding dress she was finishing. "My husband was a good man. Admittedly, we had made a political marriage many years before, but he did not put me aside when I could not bear him children. I was… fond… of him." Her voice shook slightly. "He was the first to raise objection to the mage. He told the king that the mage had given no reason for his coming here, had given no explanation of from whence he came, and that when inquiries were made, none had memory of him."
"What happened?" Legolas feared he already knew the answer.
Valda's eyes were dark with grief. "The king set Gilby to have his agents find more information, which they never were able to do. It was as if the Mage had never existed before he came to us. Two weeks after the inquiry was complete, my husband was killed. Thrown from his horse." She turned her face so her tears would not fall on the snowy material. "My husband was descended from Rohan stock. He was born to his saddle. There is not a horse that he could not ride." Her voice became bitter. "Yet he was thrown and died with a snapped neck." Tears hung in her lashes, flashing like ice crystals in the cold of the room.
Arnlaug continued. "Regin took the Count's place on the Council. I do not malign him, for he is a good man but a strong supporter of the Mage. Gilby suffered a fall soon after his inquiry, and broke his leg. It still has yet to heal fully and pains him. We feel that it was meant as a warning. There have been many others of the nobility who have looked askance or questioned, and then succumbed to wasting sicknesses or hunting accidents, or even simple things as tainted food. Those who challenge him are soon dead."
Legolas shook his head sadly and spoke. "He has insinuated himself into Aragorn's confidences, and into his mind. I did not recognize it for what it was until it was too late. I thought that I saw his grief for his loss of Arwen, not the presence of another in his mind." He sighed and touched the gem at his throat. "I am bound to this body, to this place. I no longer feel the call of the sea or my people. And I think that the mage is quite happy to have me helpless here. He has other… uses… for me."
Valda sank gracefully to her knees and touched Legolas' elbow. The white cloth pooled around her knees, and she deftly twitched it off the floor. "I know that there is still something left of our king. I see it in his eyes, flashes of him. I know that if we get him away from the mage we can bring him back to us. I know this in my heart."
"Perhaps", said Legolas slowly "one of you could lure the mage away? Trap him? Kill him?"
"No." Arnlaug shook his head. "We have tried. The king will not allow his mage to leave his side for more than a few moments. Any attempt to work against the mage will not only cause Davyn to move, but bring down the wrath of the king."
"This is a problem, but why do you share this with me? I am your prisoner. I have no power in this situation, much less my own." The elf frowned at the chancellor. "Besides, I thought you approved of what has been done here."
The man met Legolas' eyes directly. "I approve of anything that is good for my people. I cannot argue that what was done to you was wrong, but what might result from this may outweigh that wrong. You are in an unusual position and we would be fools if we didn't take advantage of it."
Valda clasped her hands together, as if in prayer. "You see, no one has been able to be alone with the king for any significant amount of time. No one has been able to speak with him alone, or have any interaction alone with him for months." She then moved her hands up and gripped the elf's knee. "But starting tomorrow, there will be one person whom he HAS to be alone. The mage cannot assist him in what needs to be done. And this person is also a friend who can perhaps bring back the king who was."
Legolas blinked numbly as he looked into Valda's upturned face.
She rushed on. "And once you conceive an heir, you are untouchable. The mage could not harm you for fear of damaging the unborn, and the king would not allow harm to come to you because of what you bear. You are in a unique situation, and a powerful one."
Eyes wide with shock, Legolas looked up to the waiting Chancellor. He finally found his voice. It was numb. "You ask too much of me. I cannot do this."
Arnlaug's face darkened. "You MUST do this. The fate of this kingdom rests upon our freeing the king from the influence of the one who controls him. I would ask no less from my own daughter or any maiden who was in this selfsame situation."
"You forget yourself. I am no maiden. I am a warrior and a prince." At the man's raised eyebrow, Legolas continued. "I am imprisoned in a body that is not my own, but my mind is still steadfastly mine and male. The very concept of what you propose sickens me."
"It may sicken you, fair one, but it is a necessary evil." The man leaned forward and lowered his voice. "I will be blunt. Not only must we get the king away from Davyn, we must KEEP him away. That means not only must you do your duty and lay with him, you must encourage him to return to you and stay with you beyond the fundamental completion of the act of getting an heir. You must drive a wedge between the two of them with your body."
"My husband's death will not be in vain, Legolas." With a voice that was so quiet it sounded of the exhalation of breath instead of speech Valda continued, "He will not have died in vain if we can defeat the one who killed him. I want justice, Legolas. I call upon you to bring me justice. It is your duty as one with royal blood."
Head bowed, Legolas shook his head. "No. You cannot ask this of me." His voice sounded weak even to his ears.
"I do more than ask this of you. I DEMAND it of you." Valda stood to glare down at the prince. "Davyn did this to you. And the only way to break free of him is to defeat him at his own game and sever his control of the king." Her face softened. "You have none of your usual weapons to fight the battle with, so you must use the ones that you have been given as a woman. I wager that you will find them more formidable than you now think."
Arnlaug reached over and placed a large hand on the elf's slender shoulder. "Sometimes we must do things that we find loathsome in order to benefit the greater good. The choice is always hard to make, but the end result of a good choice is usually worth the pain. With luck, we can break the bond between the king and Davyn. Once that is done, we can capture him and force him to release you from this spell."
Legolas did not respond. He simply looked from one human to the other with large, haunted eyes, and then turned to look out the window. Tomorrow loomed much closer and he was suddenly very afraid of what the new day would bring.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
The woman in the mirror was very beautiful, Legolas decided. She had been sewn into a flowing white silk gown that embraced every curve with a lovers touch. Her hair was loose and shone in the weak winter sunlight. Valda had placed upon her head an elven style crown made with mithril and gold beaten into the shape of tender spring leaves, and draped over this a translucent veil of the finest silk. The gem at her throat flashed with a life of its own, and even the collar looked becoming, if one could ignore what it really was.
Legolas raised a hand to the woman before him and they touched fingertip to fingertip in the glass. "I will not accept this. I will not agree to this," he told her quietly.
"It does not matter if you agree to this or not. It will happen regardless." Davyn walked up slowly behind the elf. Legolas did not turn but watched him approach in the mirror from over the woman's shoulder. "Gondor does not recognize a female's right to choose her husband, or to do much else, for that matter." The mage continued. He came to stand at one side of the elf and looked appreciatively at the vision before him.
Legolas finally turned to look at him, but still said nothing.
"You are my finest work, you realize. I had never attempted anything of this magnitude before, but you are exquisite." The tight smile never reached Davyn's eyes.
"Why have you done this?" Finally Legolas could speak around the lump in his throat. It came out as a tense whisper.
Davyn moved closer, so close that he could smell the scent of the golden hair. "The magic is leaving Middle-earth. There are so few of your people left and they leave in greater numbers each day. They are taking the magic with them." He leaned even closer. "I can't survive if the magic goes, so I had to capture a little of it for myself. It's perfect, really. I get what I need from you; the king gets what he needs from you. And when you have children, they'll be able to support my needs as well. I can hold out for generations, if I'm careful."
"And what of me?"
"And what of you? We will take, and you will give. There is nothing else to be said of it." The mage's smile finally reached his eyes. "And of course, you cannot speak of this. I have bound you from that as well."
The elf looked sadly back into the mirror. The woman was even more beautiful in her despair.