Author's note: Hi everybody! So so sorry that I have not updated in a while, but like I said before, I moved to another country(England) and it has been really hard to get adjusted to everything. That, and I don't have a computer, so I have to use the ones at school. You will have to bear with me on this story, though now that I am situated I will be able to post more often. Read and Enjoy!
Chapter 14: The price we pay
Of course, she had felt his pain as he remembered things from the past that he would not relish about with her. She felt it as she sat there in the bed they had shared the night before, lacing her boots. There were no clear images of what Legolas was remembering, but there was so much desperation and pain felt, and she was the cause of it. For a moment Aurel thought that she would not be able to get up and face him again, but she walked out and found him waiting for her out by the door. Why had he waited? She was genuinely confused. They spoke of nothing while they walked down the long corridor and out into the open air; where there were many men preparing for the trek to Helm's Deep. She closed her eyes for the moment, letting the cool air fill her lungs, the sun was shining brightly, it would be a good day to start the ride. They headed towards the stables to gather the horses, trying to block out all the commotion happening around them, Aurel fell into her memories.
"Aurel.", Said Elrond softly, "Wake up little one, I think it is time for you to leave your bed and take in some fresh air."
Opening her eyes slowly, she only looked at him in fear of going out there, and turned her head away so that she would not have to look at his pleading eyes any longer.
"You cannot stay lying there forever, please get up, or I will have to carry you out myself."
-I cannot move. - Poor excuse and she knew it.
"Have you tried?" Elrond sighed and began walking towards the door, "Try and meet me in the gardens, I will wait for only an hour, after that I will come for you and force you take in the fresh air if need be." The last part of what he had said was bitter, and exasperated. Aurel knew he was growing impatient with her.
She let him wait for an hour, and decided to get up. It was with ease that she moved, her wounds had healed on the outside, but everything was not as it was, and she wanted to be left alone. She could sense her father's want for her to come to him. It was with slumped shoulders that she found her father sitting on a marble bench inside the gardens she used to play in as an Elfling. He did not move as he felt her presence behind him.
-Why will you not let me fade...why will you not let me go? - asked Aurel.
"Why will you not speak out loud? The wound on your neck has healed." Stated Elrond.
-Give me a reason to have a voice; I have no purpose for it. I have no joy, I have nothing to keep me here.-
"Your mother did not die Aurel. Stop behaving so."
Tears filled her eyes at his defiant tone, as if her suffering was an annoyance to him.
-But she sailed west and left me here alone.-
Elrond stood from the bench and looked at her. He had forgotten how tall she was, he had forgotten what she looked like standing, how could he have? "You are not alone. Your brothers and sister are still here, and I am here. You are never alone." His heart broke as he watched the tears stream down her face.
-You do not understand then.-
"You suffered three days of pain of which I will never fully know about; your mother wished...I wish..."
Aurel turned around not wanting to hear him.
"Do not turn away from me, I am your father and you will listen to what I have to say. It is not your time to go, you are young still, and you have much to learn."
-You are binding me to an existence I no longer care for.-
Elrond walked closer to her and gently pulled her hand towards him, he then placed a neatly written letter on it. "It is from Thranduil-King."
-What do I care for his words?-
"I think you will care when you read what he has to say."
Her hand began to tremble as she looked at the letter, she dared not read it.
"You know what the letter contains already?" He asked.
Aurel shook her head no.
"Then why are you afraid to read it?"
She looked at the seal of the Greenleaf imprinted on the letter, the writing was neat, but the contents were of lament, an extent of friendship in a time of great need, but the tone of the letter changed and it became apparent very quickly that something was wrong. She read Legolas's name and nearly stopped reading the letter.
"What has occurred between the prince and yourself that I do not know about?" asked Elrond.
Her heart was breaking, Legolas had fallen ill, but elves do not get ill! He was fading, and it was because of her or so the letter implied. –Nothing occurred; I only spent a few moments with him. How could he be fading? What has happened to him?-
"Nothing happened between the both of you?" Elrond said not believing her.
Aurel shook her head no, -Tell me...how could he be fading?-
"If it is as Thranduil says, if he fell ill the day you were attacked, it means you are connected, it means you are linked to one another, you must have felt the connection to him when you were near him. He must see you immediately before he fades away completely."
-He cannot be bound to me, he has not bedded me, we are not married!-
Elrond looked at her in surprise and confusion, he looked deep in thought as he continued his speech, "You do not need to be officially bound to know when you are near your mate, the connection was made somehow and you are bound to his fea and his to yours...if you continue in your fading then he will soon follow you."
Paler than pale was what Aurel turned into. –We only spent a night together, we did nothing more than talk!-
"But you must have known. And he must have known as well. Your existence is bound to his, the feeling would have been powerful, do not tell me it was not felt."
-How would I have known, I have not the experience to judge such things...- She put her face in hands.
-He must not see me; he must stay as far away as possible.-
"It is a fragile thing you tamper with. I cannot agree with your request. Thranduil does not want his first-born son to fade. Would you cause sorrow in both houses?"
Aurel dropped her hands from her face and only looked at her father. It was a look he had never seen before and he dreaded what it meant.
-I cannot.-
"Have hope little one, the pain will fade, you will be happy again." He said with great faith.
-Hope has deceived me, I trust in it no longer...- She began to walk away, leaving her father standing in the gardens. How could she willingly continue fading knowing that it would affect Legolas? Could she be that selfish? No, she could not be. But what had happened to her in those woods, alone, had destroyed her and if distance was the only way she could protect Legolas from her pain, then that is what must be done. If it meant that she would only have to hold on a little longer while he recovered then she would be able to let go of this world without guilt.
"Aurel?" asked Legolas.
Her eyes lost focus for a moment and she looked into the clear blue eyes right in front of her. –I have hurt you deeply, haven't I?-
Legolas did not understand this change in her, she was suddenly deeply saddened. "What are you speaking about? Is something wrong?" A cold wind blew across them and she welcomed the sting of the wind on her face
-My memories Legolas. The cling to me. I relive them as if they were happening this very moment.-
The only way he found he could comfort her was to hold her and she willingly accepted his embrace.
"The curse of the immortal." He said softly to her. "It is the price we pay."
