Chapter Two—A Pool of Blue Waters
YAH! I have been reviewed! And, lo and behold, it wasn't a flame! (Marks spot in history) Thank you Elraralia, your review was much appreciated, as you can see. . Well, on with the story.
TWO YEARS LATER
Legolas
There are three things one must remember when traveling through trees like a squirrel. Number one: always watch out for rotten branches. The possibility of stepping on one of these limbs is relatively small, but the fall that one experiences is painful enough to make a full grown elf test his foot on each limb before stepping fully onto it. Number two: always gauge distance before leaping from one branch to another. If you don't, you might find yourself in a bad situation without even a rotten limb to support you. Third: Never, ever, ever stick your hand or any other body part inside a hole in a tree.
Elves aren't the only things living in Greenwood.
Sadly, neither I, nor my new friends were giving any thought to these wise rules when we traveled to my favorite swimming spot over the Forest River. Ireth and Elros were up ahead, hopping from limb to limb happily. I was behind them, taking a little bit more time to enjoy my surroundings, unlike my sugar-high friends who had literally eaten two entire pies on their own this morning.
Alassë wasn't with us. Her family was traveling to Lothlorien in order to meet some of their family. We'd all bid her farewell, and made her swear she would report as much as she could about the Lorien elves back to us as possible. Alasse wasn't the first thing on our minds at the moment, however. This morning I'd risen, at the break of dawn no less, to plead to my father to allow me to travel to Elros' home whom I'd discovered, on the night of the Seasons Festival, lived naught but a mile away from the Great Hall. This made sense, for it was becoming increasingly more dangerous to live further away from the Great Hall. Spiders were testing our borders daily, and until this moment, I'd never appreciated their boldness. Ireth and Alasse, of course, lived similarly close. They, in fact, lived even closer than Elros did, and I visited Ireth on the way to Elros' house. She was overjoyed to see me, and her ada and nana didn't seem to mind that we planned to go into the forest to play with Elros. Their only rule was that she go no further into the woods than Elros' house was already located. I found their rule sensible, and of course, agreed heartily. We three didn't have any particular destination in mind, we were just eager to be together after not seeing each other for the past week. Elros and Alasse had been able to see each other, but my father had had me studying vigorously with my teacher, Finwe, that entire last week. Granted, Alasse wasn't with us at the moment, but that couldn't be helped. She'd be back soon enough from Lothlorien, and we could wait.
Elves don't usually make friendships quite as quickly as we did that night at the Seasons Festival. But our case was different, there was something in us that made us each perfect for each other. And now it had been two years since that time in the garden, and in that small space of time (or so elves would think) we'd become best friends. My father especially seemed overjoyed that I'd gained some friends, only because, for a long time I'd been moping about in the palace with little to do. It's difficult for a young elfling prince to find playmates, considering all of them seemed so terrified of me. So, of course, ada was always delighted to allow me time to play with my new companions.
I couldn't have loved him more for his leniency with me.
This was why I felt guilty at the moment. We were going past Forest River today: an action expressly forbidden by all of our parents. But Ireth wanted to see the swimming spot that I'd told her of. I'd only seen it twice when I was a very little elfling. My father had taken me there to tell me something about my mother. He said it was the exact spot that he and she had met at and it was wide and clear blue like glass. I'd loved the spot and often wished to return there, but was always too scared to go. Ireth, however, did not hold my fear within her. I felt bad for disobeying my elders, but I too wished to see this place again just as much as Ireth did.
My musings came to a halt when we suddenly reached Forest River. "Legolas!" Elros called back to me, leaning against an old oak near the river, "You're the one that knows how to cross the river."
I looked at the fast, treacherous currents of the river and the jagged rocks that protruded from its dark blue, frothing waters. This time of the year the river was very fast and dangerous. I felt my growing doubt rise in my throat. Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea…
"Ireth, I'm—I'm not sure we should cross. The waters seem particularly treacherous today. One of us might fall in."
"Nonsense!" spluttered Ireth, "Not if this crossing way you spoke of is safe."
I looked towards the large tree that leaned over the river, its branches reaching far over the waters and nearly touching a large rock. Several other rocks protruded next to this one making for an easy passage across the waters. The rocks ended at the eaves of the tree though, and one had to make it through the tree to make the rocks of any good use. "…Alright," I said, making my ways towards the tree, "follow me."
I sprang onto the tree with little effort, and agilely maneuvered myself through the tangle of leaves and branches. I finally reached the limb I wanted; the one situated right over the boulder. Looking back, I saw Elros and Ireth following along the path through the tree that I'd used. I nodded down towards the rock in communication, knowing they wouldn't be able to hear me very well over the roar of the rushing water. Leaping nimbly from my branch I plopped down on top of the rock's smooth surface…a little too smooth. I nearly slipped. Scrabbling to stay atop, I latched my long fingers onto the other side of the rock and dug my feet into it. Using all my strength (which, I must tell you, was not much at that moment) I hauled myself back on top, breathing harshly and turning to look towards my friends who looked white as sheets. I barely heard Ireth shout "are you all right?" over the sound of the water, and I nodded my head in silent reassurance. Giving my heart time to slow down, I nimbly bounded from stone to stone. I was highly relieved when I reached the other side. Once I was standing on firm ground again, I curved to look at my friends' progress. Ireth was already nearing my shore and I marveled at her abilities. Elros was coming up behind but not quite as easily as she. His eyes were wide and scared, and it occurred to me that he was thinking twice about crossing, too. When Elros finally did reach the other side we were all shaking slightly and looking back at the river with mixed emotions. Somehow it looked even more terrifying after you'd already crossed it. Sighing, I turned and continued my way into the forest. Elros and Ireth followed silently.
We traversed the remainder of the journey on the ground this time. There wasn't any chance of anyone tracking us now, and none of us felt much like leaping at the moment. We ended up reaching the pool quicker than I'd figured. We hadn't been walking for over six to seven minutes before it miraculously appeared. It was just as I'd remembered it, too. The waters were indeed crystal clear. Green trees and foliage seemed to bow down all around the medium-sized pool. You could see the bottom plainly, and I felt a sudden itch to submerge myself in the cerulean waters. I noticed quickly that at one end of the pool it seemed to taper into a type of diminutive bay. I rushed to the bay, accompanied by my captivated friends. We'd never been allowed to swim in a place like this, and I could tell they were all thinking the same thing as I. With a loud whoop, Elros threw himself into the water like a stone shot from a slingshot. Seconds later, he resurfaced, spluttering and smiling like a lunatic, "Come on in, Legolas! Come on, Ireth! It's not as cold as I thought it would be."
I exchanged glances with Ireth who shrugged her shoulders resignedly. Screaming like a banshee, Ireth ran towards the water and leaped into the water just like Elros, who laughed when a wave rolled over his head from her impact. Looking about I perceived a great rock that was leaning over the water. I grinned to myself. Climbing to the top of the boulder, I hurled my small frame off its precipice. Elros and Ireth were both covered over in waves, and I resurfaced, laughing just like they were. To this day, I'm not exactly sure just how long we stayed there, splashing each other and laughing till our sides hurt. We didn't notice the steady changing of the weather over the treetops, or the fast moving clouds that began to swirl and darken. Our joy didn't diminish until suddenly, loud as the sound of a million screaming crebain, a thunderclap sounded overhead. Stopping in the midst of our merrymaking, each of us looked overhead in horror as lightning forked across the sky. It was night and a bad storm was coming on. Scrambling out of the pool, we looked up at the sky in dismay. "Some elves we are," I voiced quietly, "we didn't even notice the darkening of the sky. Come! Let us return home before we are stuck midst this storm. Hopefully, our parents will not skin each one of us when we return."
Ireth whimpered. "It was foolish of us to come here. We should have stayed put."
I held back the urge to remind her that she was the one who'd so insisted upon coming in the first place. "Well, there's nothing to be done about it now than to just head back."
And so we did, sprinting through the tops of the trees like as though the Dark Lord himself was on our tales. Each of us was beginning to feel panic rising in us as the sky grew darker and darker and the lightning began to become more regular. It suddenly occurred to me that we were doing possibly the worst possible thing to do in a storm. If we kept on in this manner, one of us was likely to get struck by lightning. My sudden revelation was cut short, however, when a loud yelp reached my ears from up ahead.
"Ireth!" Elros and I echoed in unison as we both scrambled down from our trees to get to where she was. A broken limb lay partly under her and she was lying quite still on the hard loam.
"How fare you?" asked Elros kneeling down beside her. His face had turned even more pale than usual. Her answer was somewhere between a growl and a moan. It was then that I noticed the peculiar position of her left leg. It was twisted a most unnatural way under her, and the leggings she was currently wearing were torn badly, several bad scratches running down her thighs. "Ireth, I think you've broken your leg."
"Oh, really?" she said angrily through her clenched teeth, "I didn't realize that." Tears were leaking down her face now, and I grew even more worried. What were we to do? Neither Elros nor I dared move Ireth for fear of hurting her twisted leg. And another thing I'd just recently noticed was the state of our surrounding area. We'd definitely gone further out into the woods than we should have. There was a stronger possibility of meeting spiders out in this area. We hadn't even thought of the possibility of spiders for our own eagerness to reach the pool. We were also probably a good 3 leagues from the Great Hall, which was where all of our healers were. Not to mention, one of us was going to have to cross the Forest River to reach the Great Hall, which, by this point, had to be near flooding and would be angrier than ever. And even if help did arrive from the other side, how on Middle Earth would they transport Ireth back across safely? I suddenly felt ill. Could it get any worse!
The first drops of rain began to fall.
"Elros," I said, looking up from Ireth, "Do you have a knife on your person?"
Elros nodded dumbly and unsheathed a small dagger. I didn't have my weapon on me and neither did Ireth, seemingly. I was glad Elros hadn't been so careless. "Okay, Elros, I need you to run back to the Great Hall. You won our last footrace, after all. I need you to tell my father where we are, and tell him to hurry back to us. I'm afraid of what this storm might do, not to mention the present state of Ireth."
Elros narrowed his eyes defiantly, "Why don't you go instead? I don't know the way as well, and I'm sure your father would be more convinced if you came."
"Because we're in spider territory now, Elros, and I've had training as a warrior. You have not." Elros blanched but did not retort. "Ireth can not defend herself right now and I can protect her, and as I've already mentioned, you are presently the faster."
Elros looked slightly reluctant, but I put on a face of grim determination, "Go, now, Elros. I'm telling you as the Prince of Greenwood. Ireth does not have the time for your hesitance. Now, go! And may the Valar protect you."
Quickly, Elros stood and sped through the woods, leaving behind his two best friends who were now alone, wet, and defenseless. I stood there for a bit, staring out into the darkness that Elros had disappeared into, shivering as the frigid rain soaked my tunic and short cloak. Rotating to look at Ireth, I gazed down at her in her injured state and felt more like a heel than before. If I'd done like my elders and my father had said none of this would have happened. The entire journey to the pool had been a pure act of foolishness.
Ireth smiled weakly at me, and she reached out her hand. Taking it, I sat down beside her, took off my cloak, and laid it over her. The rain was drenching her as well, and I was afraid she would catch cold. I knew my wet cloak wouldn't do much, but I was desperate. A few minutes later, I'd managed to pull her over into some relative shade under the trees without hurting her leg, and we both sat there quietly; both left with our own thoughts. I fingered Elros' dagger restlessly, feeling paranoid to the point of breaking. Suddenly Ireth spoke, her voice weak and frail as though it pained her to speak. "I'm sorry, Legolas." I glanced down upon her in surprise and realized she was apologizing for making me and Elros go to the pool.
"Don't be."
"It's my fault."
"No, it's not, Ireth. If I hadn't been so passive in the first place, none of this would've ever happened."
"You're always so quick to blame yourself, Legolas."
I didn't know what to say to this, and after musing over several different responses I finally let it be. Then I heard it: a low hissing and scratching. The spiders had found us…
