Disclaimer: See Prologue.
Chapter 31
Loss at Amon Hen
Legolas delved his paddle into the waters of the Anduin again, propelling the Lórien boat forward against the current. They had left Lórien early that morning, one month since they had entered the borders, just as the sun had begun to glow on the horizon.
Gifts had been given, some more precious than they appeared. Gimli's fascination of Galadriel was the most unexpected thing that had occurred during their stay in the Golden Wood, for he went so far as to ask for 'a single hair from her golden head'. The dwarf did indeed receive his gift, threefold; for the Lady had given him not one, but three perfect, long, golden hairs.
Legolas adored his new bow, stretching the string and admiring the stunning carvings and craftsmanship.
As he continued his work, he let his eyes rest upon Arodwen. She had hardly spoken a word since the two of them had left the clearing of the Mirror. The prince was growing very worried for his love... He had tried and failed innumerous times to raise her spirits; moonlit walks, passionate kisses, romantic singing, jokes, and even archery. But she would just give him a half-hearted smile before withdrawing farther into her own self.
They came upon the Falls of Rauros days later, and pulled their boats ashore.
Arodwen stepped out of the boat, apparently unfazed by the river's water that swirled halfway up to her knees as she grabbed her pack and walked to the shore. Her eyes were downcast, and she seemed to be brooding deeply on something.
Legolas's grey-blue eyes fixed upon her even as he secured the Lórien boat on the shore. The Prince has slept beside her the night before, and was deeply disturbed to find that her nightmares had grown worse. Yet, she hadn't spoken a word about them to him! And they had indeed gotten very frightening... He could tell just by the whimpers and muffled cries for help she let slip in her sleep...
Arodwen was looking through the trees and swirling mist that lay before her, her pack dangling from her hand.
Legolas had come up behind her, and was about to reach out and lay a hand on her shoulder, intending to confront her about the nightmares, when Aragorn spoke;
"We have come now to the point where we must make our decision. Shall we turn and go to Gondor to seek aid, or shall we continue forth on our mission to Mount Doom?" the ranger asked, his gaze resting solely upon Frodo.
The Ringbearer was not hasty in answering at all. "Alas! I cannot make such a decision in such little time."
"We have no time, Master Frodo." Aragorn contradicted with what easiness a Ranger could offer, his grey eyes glancing at Boromir, then at Legolas and Arodwen, Gimli, then the rest of the hobbits.
"Peace! Give me but an hour to think, and then I shall answer!" the blue-eyed hobbit requested, getting up from his spot, and hastening into the forest without delay.
Arodwen watched the small creature go with pity in her eyes. Such burdens were best left with those who are better able to carry them... But this hobbit was strong. Very, strong.
"Arodwen-"
"Legolas," Arodwen began to answer before he had even finished his sentence, "I beg you, question me not. My mind is overly troubled-"
"Then lay them on me!" he answered quickly, grasping her wrist and pulling her around to face him. "Arodwen, I will not let this continue. The secrets, the hiding, the withdrawal... It has to stop. You cannot keep shutting me out of your problems!"
"I can sure try..." she murmured with a bowed head.
His fingers firmly gripped her chin, forcing her gaze to meet his stern stare. "I am serious, Arodwen. Being in love means you share your problems, your burdens, fears, and worries with the one you love; because they can help you."
Arodwen reached up with her hand, and gently pried his fingers away from her chin, enclosing his hand in both of her own, and bestowing a gentle kiss upon it. "I know, meleth, I know. But as I've told you before... Some secrets I cannot divulge to you. Some worries, must remain my own..."
"Your nightmares, then." Legolas said frigidly, narrowing his eyes at her and not letting go of her hands.
She looked up at him in disbelief, lost as to how he knew her nightmares still plagued her.
"Do not look at me like I did not know, Arodwen! Every night, even when I lay near, I hear you whimpering, crying, and muttering in your sleep. You seem in pain; you have even called out to me in your sleep! What do your night visions now show? What evil now blights your sleep?" he asked in a harsh whisper, watching as her eyes slowly widened, and her hands began to shake in his own.
Arodwen couldn't seem to speak for several moments, her eyes darting here and there, while she tried in vain to free her trembling hands from the soft ones of Legolas. But under Legolas's stern glare, she was forced into speech.
"... I did not know I spoke whilst I slept... I am sorry."
Legolas could have growled in anger at her. "That is not it! You did not tell me that your dreams had gotten worse! That is why I am angry! By the Valar Arodwen, how long will it take for you to trust me? I want to know when you troubled, no matter what those problems may be! I want to help you; keep you safe despite whatever evil I may face." He sighed audibly, his heart giving a painful throb when she lowered her gaze to the ground to try and hide her tears of shame.
Legolas let go of her hands and lifted her chin with his own, brushing away a tear with his thumb. He gave her a reassuring smile, bestowing a loving kiss on her pale lips. His hand caressed the side of her face, before running through her long hair, and resting on the back of her neck. Heart swelling with joy, he kissed her as eagerly as she returned it.
She rested her forehead under his chin, feeling him brush his lips on the top of her head. Arodwen encircled him in her arms, closing her eyes as he returned the embrace. "I'm sorry Legolas, I really am." she said, "I am trying not to be so distant from you; I promise that I shall try to confide in you more. But please, please understand that I cannot do that all the time?"
"I know cormamin," the prince sighed, "I know. And I will try not to pressure you so much. However, please, tell me of your dreams. That at least I know you can tell me." (my heart)
Arodwen hesitated, raising her head from it's comfortable spot beneath his chin. She stared up into his shining azure eyes, reading the hope and love they did not hide from her. Arodwen smiled, and began, "Very well, bain maethor nin... My nightmares-" (my fair warrior)
"Boromir is gone!" shouted Aragorn, interrupting Arodwen's words. "And it is far past the hour Frodo asked for. I fear something dreadful is amiss. We must find them quickly!"
As the ranger opened his mouth to speak again, the hobbits all took off running in different directions, the elves and dwarf following...
Arodwen ran as lightly as she could, her eyes piercing the forest for any sign of the Ringbearer or the Steward's son. Her companions had all scattered; unintentionally meaning that most were off on their own... Like her.
Across the autumn leaf strewn ground she sprinted, ignoring the old statues that seemed to glare at her as she passed.
She suddenly heard Boromir's voice, loud and angry shouting, "Fool! What chance do you think you have! Give it to me!"
She rounded around a fallen statue's head to see Boromir attacking Frodo, groping to get to the Ring. Frodo cried out at the man's hands latched around his neck in an attempt to grasp the chain.
"Boromir! No! Let him go! Leave him!" Arodwen cried. When he did not heed her, she went barreling into the Gondorian man, causing him to topple off of the Ringbearer, and the two of them to roll across the ground.
Arodwen yelled at Frodo, "Go! Find Aragorn!" while grappling with the man who was twice her strength, and the hobbit obeyed with fear for her in his eyes; hesitating to leave her to fend for herself.
Boromir shouted again in rage at the loss of his prize, cursing and continuing to fight the she-elf and pinned her to the ground. He backhanded her hard across the face, not noticing the crimson blood that coated the back of his hand because of his brutality.
As he began to advance again, Arodwen kicked him hard in the stomach, and rolled away to get shakily to her feet. She had only regained her footing when she was slammed against a tree behind her, Boromir's arm at her throat while the man sneered at her. "The Ring could've been mine! And so could you! But you had to go and ruin everything!" Boromir yelled at her, ignoring her gasps of pain for breath.
Her hands clutched at the powerful arm at her throat as she choked out, "Boromir----no!----please!----"
Arodwen dimly heard the sound of uruks not far off... along with voices that called out to the rest of the fellowship members... Aragorn...? Legolas...? Gimli...? Someone! Help me...
Her eyes were overbright with pain and pleading, but Boromir continued to glare at her, watching her face become ashen and a few tears leak from the corners of her eyes from the agony.
Her heartbeat was getting slower and slower... She kept thinking over and over again that this was the end... That the Ring had taken over so much of Boromir, that he would have no remorse in killing her...
But, just before she passed out from lack of breath, Boromir smirked. "Let this teach you a lesson, elven wench..." he hissed, right before his fist collided with the side of her head, causing darkness to cloud her sight.
The last thought she had before succumbing to unconsciousness was:
Legolas...
Legolas sprinted through the forest, the dwarf lagging behind him. "Arodwen! Aragorn!" he called out, "Merry, Pippin! Boromir!" Where were the rest of his companions? Surely not... His heart swelled with grief at the thought, and drove him to run faster. But when he crested the hill, the sight before him made him stop dead.
Aragorn was leaning over a mortally wounded and near dead Boromir, speaking softly to the man of Gondor.
Boromir looked remorseful and sickly pale, but he continued to shakily speak back to the Ranger, his voice breaking.
Legolas watched in despair as the man breathed his last, and Aragorn rose to his feet.
The Ranger turned at the sound of the dwarf's heavy grunting as he too finally reached them. When Gimli saw the scene before him, he leaned on his axe with eyes closed in mourning.
Legolas too murmured a prayer for the fallen man, before drawing his attention to Aragorn.
"Where are the hobbits? Arodwen? Have you seen them?" he asked hastily, striding to him.
Aragorn looked at him with grief in his eyes. "I let Frodo go... And Sam journeyed on with him; his pack is missing. Merry and Pippin... Boromir said they were taken by the uruks while he tried to defend them."
"And Arodwen...?" Legolas asked, finding the tremble in his voice foreign to his ears.
Aragorn bit his lip uncharacteristically, and shook his head. "I know not... Boromir said he fought with her," Legolas made a vehement noise of outrage, but Aragorn silenced him with a hand, "but when he came to his senses when the Ring loosened it's power on him, he found that he had thankfully done no damage save for knocking her unconscious. But then the uruks came, and he had to fight for the hobbits' safety."
"We must find her then!" Legolas exclaimed, "She could be injured! And the hobbits! We must save them!"
"Lad," Gimli interjected, "the uruks are clever. They probably took her with the hobbits; she couldn't fight back while she was in unwilling sleep."
"Aí! I fear you are right! We have to find them Aragorn! And with haste! You know what those vile beings will do!" Legolas shouted, an unquenchable fear gripping him at the thought of his beloved alone with the uruks...
"Legolas, my friend, peace! If anything, they are afraid of her." Aragorn moved to stand near Boromir again, looking down at his brother-in-arms in pity and grief. "But we cannot simply leave Boromir here, lying like another one of the fallen orcs. We must honor his deeds and body; gather the weapons of those he has felled, and we will place him in one of the spare boats. His body can be trusted to the Anduin; the river will be sure his bones remain undisturbed and returned home..."
Legolas watched the boat that bore Boromir tumble over the falls. The prince couldn't decide if he felt more sadness for the fallen man, or more anger for what he'd done to Arodwen...
"Come mellon nin!" Aragorn called to the elf, sheathing his Lórien knife in his belt. "The hobbits and Arodwen wait for rescue, and I shall not deny them while I still have breath."
Legolas quickly turned at his words, and couldn't help but grin at the way Gimli shook his axe and growled in fervor.
He sprinted off after the other two hunters, while his mind drifted away. Guilt filled his being, at the thought that he could have protected her... If only she'd stayed by his side... If he'd followed her...
"Legolas!"
The elf looked to Aragorn, who was staring hard at him while running alongside him. "I know the look that gleams in your eyes. There was nothing you could have done to prevent this; it was merely a chance of fate. Guilt will not help you to save her. Think not on it."
Legolas just nodded grimly, picking up his pace, but knowing that the uruks that now held their companions captive were more than half-a-day ahead... It would be a long journey.
