Chapter 7 – Lothlorien at Last

It was not long before Gimli was asleep, and once again Legolas forced himself to stay awake, even though it was growing even harder for him. Several times his eyes would drift shut, and he would nearly fall asleep entirely. At last, he stood up and began pacing around the dying fire. He was far too exhausted to do it, but it was the only way he could think of to stay awake.

As he walked, he let his mind wander. How was Aragorn doing? Was he even still alive? Suppose they found the cure and returned, only to find- No, he would not let himself think it. Of course he was still alive. They simply could not fail to make it back it time. To fail was impossible!

But it had been growing even harder for himself lately. His strength was waning from lack of sleep, and though they were nearly to Lothlorien, they still had the return journey. He was not sure that it was possible to make it that long without sleep. He shivered and drew his cloak tightly around himself. Cold. Yet another sign of the weakness this new mortality had brought him. He had heard that mortals could also have sickness, and every shiver brought that thought back to the front of his mind. What would happen if he did become sick before they could make it back to Minas Tirith? Disaster, that is what would happen. He simply could not allow it, though all the normal precautions could be disasters as well. They did not have enough food and water to keep that well nourished, and there was no time for rest. He would simply have to pray to Eru then that he would remain in good health.

At last, when he could walk no longer, he sat down again and stared into the dying embers, the only light that remained. Legolas still could not believe how dark the nights had seemed to him lately. And the last couple of nights, he had felt something that was entirely new to him. He hated to admit it, but he somehow knew what it was. He was growing afraid of the dark. He shivered and drew his knees up to his chest. Would he never get used to this?

He was not aware of falling asleep, but the next thing he knew, he was surrounded by bright sunlight with someone shaking him roughly and calling to him to wake up. Legolas groaned and rolled over. He did not remember ever lying down. Had he really fallen asleep?

"Legolas, get up!" Gimli said, his voice finally penetrating into Legolas' sleepy brain. "You were the one who wanted to leave early!"

"Early?" Legolas mumbled, his voice slurred by his sleepiness. "Why?"

Gimli rolled his eyes. "Don't you remember Aragorn?"

Legolas awoke with a start, nearly jumping into a startled Gimli. "Aragorn!" he exclaimed with a moan. "How did I ever sleep!"

"Don't blame yourself, you were-"

"I do not care what I was! Aragorn is dying, and I was too busy sleeping to help!" Legolas began grabbing things together, stumbling in his haste.

Gimli grabbed the things from Legolas. "Slow down, and get Shadowflame," he ordered.

Legolas quickly nodded and ran over to Shadowflame. He started untying the knots, but he was still going too quickly, and kept fumbling. He let out a frustrated growl as he realized he had only succeeded in tangling the knots even further. He pulled out a knife and cut the ropes free, then rushed Shadowflame over to Gimli. He shoved Gimli up onto Shadowflame's back, and jumped up in front of him. "Run, Shadowflame, noro lim run fast!"

They flew northward across the plains, not stopping all that day. At last, just as the sun was setting, the trees of Lothlorien appeared on the horizon. Legolas smiled with slight relief as they made the rest of the way there.

At last they broke in among the trees where the rosy light of sunset filtered into the forest, giving the silver trunks of the mellyrn a soft pink hue. Legolas wished he had time to go slowly and enjoy the beauty around him, but he was in too much of a hurry for that. Still, he allowed Shadowflame to slow down a little, telling himself that he did it so they would not accidentally pass something important.

At last, when all that remained of the light was a dark red glow, a small group of Elves could be seen in the distance. Legolas sped up Shadowflame briefly, then slowed as they approached. They stopped just in front of the group of Lothlorien guards.

"What is your business here?" asked one of them, apparently their leader.

"I am Legolas, and this is my friend, Gimli. We have both passed through this way before, in the company of the Ringbearer."

"You were in his company?" the leader asked in awed surprise.

"Yes, and both of us are welcome in these woods. Now please take us to your Lady, as I have something urgent to speak with her about."

"I will take you, but we cannot travel this late at night. We must wait until the morning."

"Very well, but we cannot wait much longer."

The leader nodded. "We will leave at dawn." He led the way to a nearby tree, and gave a low call. A rope ladder was promptly lowered, and the leader rapidly climbed it first. Then he turned to wait for Gimli and Legolas. Legolas let Gimli go first, as he was anxious to put off climbing as long as possible. Considering how difficult things had been for him lately, he was afraid of what climbing a simple rope ladder would be like.

Far too soon, it was his turn. He gulped, stepped forward, took a deep breath, and put a hand on one of the rungs. He put his other on the rung above, and put his first foot on the bottom one. So far it had gone well. He took a deep breath and lifted his other foot off the ground.

He felt several things at once. For one thing, he suddenly felt unsteady, as though he might fall at any moment. He gripped the rungs tightly and forced his foot onto the second rung. Then he moved his lower hand onto a higher rung, then moved his lower foot up. The whole world seemed to be moving around him, and he gripped the ropes with all of his strength. He made slow progress, and when he finally pulled himself up onto the talan, he was completely out of breath from the frightening experience. He made a mental note to himself to work on his balance once this whole ordeal was over.

As Gimli lay down to get some sleep, Legolas joined the others so he could stay awake again. But one of the Elves soon noticed him fighting back the sleep, and quickly assured him that they would wake him in time to leave early next morning. Legolas smiled his thanks and stretched out on the ground. He had barely rested his head on the wood floor before sleep overtook him, and he did not wake until morning.