Warnings: Slightly disturbing material, freaky themes, yadda yadda yadda. Plus a little risk of fangirl flames. Hehe. Yes, the threats begin…
Disclaimer: Same as the one in the previous chapter…except you might want to change the character. :)
A/N: THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!
Friendship Confessions"Have a seat."
A look of guilt. Uncertainty. Nervousness.
Once again the small stool creaked slightly as a figure sat down upon it, but it did not creak nearly as much as the poor thing had expected, and found itself relaxing under the weight it bore. At last.
The priest once again sat down in his own seat behind the small, decorated window, taking a moment to look over the newest comer to the church as if to make sure he wasn't an assassin or devil of sorts, smoothing his robes slowly with his wrinkled hands before finally relaxing and turning his eyes toward the wall of the tiny room instead, so as not to further confuse himself with the appearance of the one outside. "Begin." He said softly a moment later, folding his hands and waiting for a response.
It came in all good time. "Bless me Father, for I have sinned." The elf spoke quietly, his eyes on the ground as he too folded his hands and began to speak. "I bring my sins of disobedience to my father before the Lord."
The priest closed his eyes and nodded softly. This was nothing he hadn't heard before. Far too many times young ones would wander in confessing that they had defied or disobeyed their parents, and this one would (hopefully) be no different. Although he had never had someone that looked like this elf come in and confess this… "Mm. A very easy slip to make, my child." He murmured to the nervous figure outside the window. "Tell me what has caused this defiance."
"Well…it is a very old rule that my father had set up for me since I was a small child." The elf replied in the same quiet tone as ever. "A rule about those I befriend…how I must not befriend mortals of any kind…and I must not even come near the Naugrim…I fear I have broken that rule on a handful of occasions."
"I see." The priest responded with a small nod of understanding. "And how have you broken these rules, my child?"
The blonde-haired elf fidgeted uncomfortably on the stool, uneasy blue eyes sweeping the church room as if to make sure no one was listening to their conversation before he spoke again, this time so softly that the slightly seenile priest had to strain his ears to hear him. "There are…two mortals that I have called mellyn nin." He confessed quietly. "A mortal man, Aragorn son of Arathorn, and…" His voice faltered then, and he glanced toward the priest as if asking if it were all right to continue.
The priest nodded slowly, clearly uncertain why this elf was hesitating now in his speech. "Go on."
The elf moved his head away again, looking back down toward the ground. "…and a dwarf. Gimli son of Gloin." He finished, his voice barely above a mouse's whisper as his eyes once again flicked around the room. "Both of them I consider my truest and most beloved friends…this is the truth."
The priest was silent for a moment, considering the problem silently for a moment with a usual sense of calm about him, still faintly relieved that this case was something he felt he had heard before. Of course he had never dealt with a rule like this before…truthfully, he didn't understand most of it. "Well, it is indeed a serious thing to defy your parents, Legolas." He said in a grave and yet serene tone that he had perfected over the years. "Especially concerning things that have to do with choosing your friends."
"But they are not anything dangerous!" Legolas protested, suddenly sounding a bit desperate as if he had said this to many people before the old priest. "They have not hurt me, nor have they denied me in any circumstances! They have remained true and loyal, even putting their lives at risk for mine! How could I ask for friends of more worth than that?"
The priest nodded softly again. "That may be so, but if your father had this rule set up before you met these two…mortals…then it is still a matter of disobedience that you came so close to Aragone and Ginlee."
"Aragorn and Gimli." Legolas corrected, his voice once again dropped to a shameful quiet.
"Aragorn and Gimli." The priest repeated with a confirming nod. "And what do you believe your father would say if he learned of this, my child?"
Legolas closed his eyes tightly, as if suddenly picturing a gruesome mental image within his mind's eye. "He would forbid me to see them ever again." He responded in a quick but very quiet voice. "He would be furious…after being so adament about the following of that rule…"
"Mmm…" The priest murmured, still listening and now sounding a bit more concerned as it almost sounded to him that the father of this elf may be a bit over-protective and quick-to-temper. Not a very good thing in these circumstances, he knew well. "And what would your mother say?"
The blue eyes fell once more. "My mother has been gone since I was but a small child." Legolas murmured, his voice now so quiet that the priest only caught the words "mother" "gone" "small child". But those words were enough to clarify the story for him nonetheless. "I do not know what she would say."
The priest nodded very somberly at these words, a new dawning of understanding coming over him. So Legolas' father was an only parent. All the more reason to knock down that temper level a few notches, in his opinion… "Ah…I see." He said in an understanding and gentle voice that he often used in the midst of sympathy. "Well, in that case, what do you believe you should do in this situation?"
"Well, I don't really know…" Legolas responded, sounding nervous once again. "I was rather hoping you could tell me…or perhaps give me a bit of advice?" He looked hopefully over at the window, the look on his face pleading for help as the priest had seen one-too-many times during his line of work.
"Well, in a case like this, your answer is very simple." The priest replied, slipping back into his usual tutorial-sounding voice, faintly relieved that now was the time for the answer to the problem. "Take your troubles to the Lord, pray for guidance, and answer to His will in the fifth commandment. This will give you strength to do what you must do, and that is to tell your father what you have done, and accept his answer to the breach of his rule. The Lord will watch over you no matter what happens."
Legolas listened quietly (as usual) while he spoke, his hands still nervously entwining with one another, but when the priest finished speaking he gave a nod of acknowledgement, and stood silently from the stool to give the room one last glance, crossing himself reverantly when his eyes fell upon the golden crucifix on the wall, and then turning to walk slowly and strangely noiselessly from the room.
Leaving the priest alone to shake his head silently as the strange golden-haired being left his sight.
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And there is chapter 3! Thank you all so much for your patience, but I did indeed go on vacation this month (what's new?), and I am SO grateful for the reviews you left me. This chappie once again owes a thank you to Lina-Baggins for her suggestion of doing one with Legolas, but still a big thank-you to everyone else who has cared to read this story over!
Review ResponsesAnawey: Ah, why try not to laugh? Hehe! I know! It's very scary. Confessions always are. Believe me, my grandfather would know! Thanks for reading and THANK YOU for reviewing:)
Kabuki733701: Gollum! Hahahaha! Yeah, you're not kidding that guy would have a lot to confess! He'd probably scare the poor priest out of his mind! But then again, Gollum doesn't seem like the kind of creepy-crawly that would confess all his sins… but then again, you never know. (evil grin) May have to take that into consideration…thanks for droppin' another review!
Lina-Baggins: My hero! Hehe! Thanks so much for dropping another great review Miss Baggins! And you were totally right about Legolas. That guy does have a thing or two to confess now, doesn't he? Thanks for the idea once again, and if I rock…well, you rock WAY MORE! (hugs) Thanx for reading my story! Chapter 3 is up!