Disclaimer:Through a startlingly odd chain of events, I am now in possession of the rights to The Lord of the Rings. HAH! Gotcha! Now, I'm going to cower under my bed and hope that the real owners of the rights don't send the police after me.
AN:(Edited 5 April 2010) This is the last real chappy of Mists of Memory! Holy cow! There will be an epilogue up sometime next week, and that's it! That's all she wrote! (Literally, heh heh) Soooooo, this will prolly be the last chance I get to apologize to you guys for being so late! Until I begin my next story that is… lol! More on that later. So!
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
The enchantress threw her hands against Legolas's body as a last attempt to stop his suicidal rush. He collided heavily with her and both staggered. Legolas tried to pull back, sure that she was preparing a spell in retaliation. Her bony hands clenched the fabric of his tunic, and he stopped, mere inches away.
They stared at each other for what seemed an eternity, but was really only several seconds. The orcs had frozen where they stood, watching the proceedings through slanted yellow eyes. Estel had regained his footing, Elladan had picked up his sword, and Elrohir was climbing back to his feet, unnatural fury burning in his eyes. They began to stalk forward, intent on carrying out Lúthien's desire for the prince's death.
Legolas saw all this from the corner of his eye and he tried to spin, to put Lúthien's body between himself and his friends. She resisted, thrashing about wildly, hand still clutching his tunic. Startled, he stared at her face, which was contorted into an expression of terrible pain. Blood began to trickle from her mouth, staining her bared teeth and dripping onto her fine robes.
"You… little… brat!"
The prince glared at her, too furious to feel pity for the wretch. She slumped, falling away from him as her hands relaxed. Legolas's hand slid from the hilt of his knife to drop down to his side. His weapon, however, did not fall. It had been driven deep into her chest by the force of their collision.
Those words were the first she had ever spoken to him. And now, two thousand years later, they were the last.
As the last breath of air left her lungs, Lúthien locked her dimming green eyes on Legolas's face. The fury she saw there gave her a rush of fear. And then the fear faded into the deep black as her soul fled to the Halls of Mandos to await her judgment.
Legolas watched, coldly triumphant as the enchantress ceased to breathe. His rage began to dissipate, and he became acutely aware of the blood soaking the back of his tunic where he had been stabbed. He bent and pulled his knife from Lúthien's chest. As he straightened, he saw that the red of her blood had been canceled out from the black of the orc blood. The blade that had killed her was stained as black as her heart.
He turned, remembering that he still had to deal with the sons of Elrond, and quite possibly, all the rest of those orcs. But the instant he began to move, he knew that he had pushed himself too far. Exhaustion overwhelmed him, and the pain between his shoulder blades sharpened into a heart-stopping wall of agony. His legs buckled, and he went down hard. As he fell into the blank nothing of unconsciousness, he found himself wondering if he would ever open his eyes again.
Elladan cried out as he felt Lúthien's awareness fade from his mind. It felt horrible, as if someone had ripped a part of him away. What had happened? Where had she gone? What should he do? It was a moment of pure confusion, and by the time he had sorted through the whole mess and had worked out what had happened, he was basically himself again, though quite shaken.
It had been the oddest sensation. A small part of him knew exactly what was happening and had tried to rebel, but the enchantress had quickly and effectively crushed and melded his will. And he had been forced to draw a weapon against… Legolas!
Suddenly terrified for his friend, his gaze shot to where he had last seen his friend. He was just in time to see Legolas collapse to the floor.
Letting out a shout of fear, Elladan darted to his friend's side, stepping on several orc bodies in the process. He knelt, heart thumping wildly, and felt for a pulse. For several terrifying seconds, he couldn't locate one, probably due to the shaking of his hands. But then his trembling fingers found it: a quick, faint fluttering of the heart.
Elladan let his breath out in relief and turned to see his brothers similarly shaking off the effects of Lúthien's mind control. They looked confused and baffled before the reality of what had happened penetrated the fog around their brains. And suddenly they all realized something: they were still in the hall with scores of orcs! Three swords rose and two suddenly very-wary elves (and one human) settled into a defensive stance.
The orcs, never bright to begin with, were now having difficulty even remembering how they had gotten there. And when they spotted the twin elves and a human, each holding a very long, sharp looking sword and wearing furious scowls, it was simply too much for their muddled minds. They fled, trampling each other in their haste to flee this place and go back to their tribes.
Elladan, Elrohir, and Estel watched dumbfounded as the stream of orcs parted around them. They didn't even warrant a second glance from most of the creatures. They kept expecting the creatures to turn and rush at them, scimitars and spears raised.
But as the seconds passed, it became apparent that the much-beleaguered friends were on the receiving end of a bit of good luck.
It was about time.
They used this advantage to turn their full attention back to Legolas. The wood-elf had fallen forward onto his stomach, fully revealing the torn fabric and deep wound between his shoulders. Elladan snatched one of Legolas's knives and used it to tear the cloth away from the wound. The orcan scimitar had plunged straight in and out, leaving a clean, if dangerously deep gash.
Estel, used to helping Elrond with injuries, was ready. He had torn strips from his cloak and padded them together to make a thick wad of cloth that could serve as a bandage. He passed it to Elladan who laid it against the gash and applied pressure. Legolas shifted and groaned softly, but did not wake. "Sorry, mellon-nin," Elladan whispered, "but it has to be done. Don't you give up on us now."
Elrohir, who had warily been watching the last orcs disappear out the door, turned and dropped to one knee beside his twin. "How bad is it?"
Elladan shook his head, accepted another wad of cloth from Estel, and set it on top of the now-bloody previous one. "I am not sure. If we can get it to stop bleeding, he may be all right. But he was already tired, and that along with the blood loss… I'm no healer, but I do not think the outlook is good."
Elrohir's face hardened. "We cannot let that happen. I am going down to the dungeons to find Thranduil. He should be here. Do you need anything before I go?"
Elladan shook his head. "Ask him if he knows where the Mirkwood healers are being kept. I don't want to have to do this by myself."
The younger twin gently placed his hand over Legolas's and said, "Stay with us, Legolas. You've come all this way, and I just can't see you giving into a little cut from an orc."
Elladan caught his brother's sleeve as Elrohir stood. "A littlecut?"
Elrohir smiled mischievously. "I was simply speaking his language. You know him. A broken ankle is 'a little strain', internal bleeding is 'a tiny bruise', and an arrow wound is 'a minute puncture wound'. I'll be back soon." And with that, he sprinted away, heading for the dungeons and leaving Elladan with a smile on his face.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Estel crouched near his brother, watching Elladan's nimble hands as he strove to stop the bleeding. "So Estel," Elladan said suddenly. "You did very well against those orcs. You aren't hurt, are you?"
Estel, who had been mentally prepared for a furious barrage of questions about his foolish decision to follow along, let his guard down in surprise. "Well… no I don't think so. A couple of cuts, but nothing terrible. Elrohir was hurt though, I heard him gasp. He wouldn't let me turn around to look though."
"Of course he wouldn't. Tis a bad idea to take your attention off of your opponents, especially in such close quarters. One of the nasty creatures would behead you before you knew it."
Estel smiled. "That's what he said."
"So you are not hurt?"
"No."
"Good." Elladan took a deep breath and exhaled. Then, so suddenly that Estel fell over from his crouch onto his rear, he shouted, "Are you out of your tree? What on Arda possessed you to follow us? Ada will—"
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Elrohir skidded around a corner and hit some one face first. Both let out a shout of surprise as they fell backwards. Elrohir staggered against the wall, rubbing his forehead and wondering where all the stars were coming from. Who had he run into?
"Of course. It's Lord Elrond's second little devil. Hello, Elrohir."
Oh dear. The twin's vision cleared and he saw Thranduil, similarly leaning against the opposite wall. "Thranduil! Do you know where any of the healers are being kept? We have to hurry!"
The king did not ask questions. Hurrying along the tunnels to the guards watch-room, he plucked a ring of keys from a hook on the wall and tossed them to Elrohir. "Take that left, and it's the third door down on your right."
Elrohir snapped out a hand, caught the keys and was gone. Thranduil turned and began moving again, as fast as his weak state would allow. Something large had transpired, and someone had been injured. Why, oh why, did he feel that Legolas was in the middle of it?
As fast as he hurried, (which wasn't really all that fast) the king barely made it to the hall to see what had happened before Elrohir and two healers blew past him. Thranduil's knees threatened to give out. The large hall had seen battle. Pools of orcan blood and orcan bodies were everywhere. If he had looked down, he would have seen his ragged boots standing in blood.
But what chilled his heart, what brought his memories back to that day, eight months ago, was what lay in the middle of the room. Before the healers had closed in, he had seen Elladan and Estel, kneeling beside their fallen comrade. And once again, he realized, once again, he was in danger of losing his son.
Strength came from the last of his deep reserves as he sprinted across the room and came up beside his son's body. He dropped to his knees along with the rest of them and carefully picked up Legolas's hand. He remained there, quietly talking to his son as the healers worked to stop the bleeding.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, one of the healers, Crunein, sent Elladan for a stretcher so that they could move Legolas to a room. Estel had been sent down to the dungeons quite awhile ago to free the elves still trapped in the cells. There was a great deal of confusion as to why a young human was in Mirkwood at all, never mind in the depths of Thranduil's palace. Estel refused to answer their questions, focusing only on his task so that he could return to Legolas's side when he finished.
By the time the elves began to trickle up to the main hall to stare in wonder at the battlefield, the healers, twins, and king had already departed with Legolas. And the elves' bafflement became even more pronounced when Estel, his task complete, came charging into the room and almost directly out again, following the directions that Elladan had given him for the prince's room.
Shrugging their slim shoulders, the inhabitants of Mirkwood set about cleaning up the palace.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
"Will he be all right?" Thranduil asked anxiously.
"It all depends on him," Crunein said, shaking his head. "If he wakes, then he will make a full recovery. If not, well… The exhaustion may be the thing that tips it over the edge. And he is so thin! But he is strong," he added at seeing Thranduil's disconsolate look. "Do not give up hope just yet."
With instructions that they be summoned if the prince awakened, the healers left the room.
Thranduil turned his sharp eyes on the twins and Estel, who had entered as the healers exited. "Now. I would like to know what happened."
And so they told him, not leaving out a single detail. Thranduil learned of Estel's dream, Legolas's slight amnesia, the discovery of the poison and the desperate searchings of the twins and Estel for some sort of cure. They even told him of Elrond's dunking in the fountain, complete with flour details. The king listened as they told him of Legolas's awakening and frantic rush to get to Mirkwood. His heart swelled with pride as they revealed how Legolas was so determined to get back to his home and help his people. And then they came to how they had hidden behind the tapestry in the hall.
Thranduil listened in amazement as Elladan spoke, telling him about Legolas's insane rush and the fight that followed. The twins ended together, voices hoarse as they told him of the death of Lúthien.
The silence stretched as they waited for Thranduil's reaction. The king had been relatively silent through out the telling, although his expression had grown progressively shocked as time wore on. He reached for Legolas's hand again and said softly, "Ion-nin,what am I to do with you?"
Legolas was still deep in unconsciousness. He looked very pale against the deep green of the sheets upon which he lay on his side. His golden hair had been caught up in a single braid and pulled over his shoulder, the brilliant color undimmed by the whole ordeal. He wore only leggings and a light blanket had been pulled up to rest on his hips.
Thranduil scowled as he caught sight of the slowly-forming scar that showed where the orcan scimitar had bitten into his side on top of the cliff near Rivendell. He had to let this sink in. The ordeal Legolas had been through shocked him. Held by orcs, poisoned, stabbed in the back… It was a miracle that he could look at his son and see that he was alive. To watch the steady inhale exhale that proved that Legolas was still holding on.
It had been an exhausting day.
And all that was left to do was wait. Just to wait and see.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Hours passed. All of the orcan bodies had been gathered and burned, and the elves were once again turning to the question of what had happened. No one had seen the king yet, except for the healers, who absolutely refused to divulge what was happening in the little room. With no one to give them the truth, much speculating was done on the subject, and soon there were several different theories on what was going on behind that door, and who had killed the sorceress.
Behind 'the door' lay four sleeping elves and one very weary human. Estel was so tired that his eyes were crossing and he was seeing double, but he refused to let himself go to sleep. He did not want Legolas to wake up and need something, and have everyone be asleep.
But sleep…. It sounded so good. And the chair he was in was particularly comfortable. And the room was warm… No! He had to…stay… awake… So tired… Yawn…
Legolas shifted, and at first, Estel put it down to the crossing of his eyes. But when it happened again and he saw dazed blue eyes open, he knew that the eye crossing had nothing to do with it. "Hey… Elladan… Elrohir…" Yawn… "Thranduil!" The elves woke with a start and looked questioningly at the young human. Estel smiled blearily at them and said, "Legolas is… awake…" And with that, he dropped off to sleep.
Thranduil leaned forward in his chair and smiled at his son. "Legolas, ion-nin, how are you feeling?"
The twins each leapt up from their respective chairs and crowded in, one on each side of Thranduil. And so it was that Legolas's blue eyes focused wearily on them and he smiled, something that they all had feared that they would never see again. "I feel… fine."
That earned a laugh from all of them. Legolas would be just fine. Thranduil squeezed his son's hand and said softly, "My son, I am so proud of you. And I am so happy that you are alive."
"Me too, ada. Me too."
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
AN:Well, that's that. Only the epilogue left before this story is complete! After like, a year and a half… wow. Sooooo, I don't really have much to say, other than my customary apologies for being so freaking late. As usual….