When I awoke, it was dark in the chapel. The elf was still holding me in his arms and had rested his chin on top of my head. Was he asleep?
I did not stir. Instead, I wondered what he might be up to. He had said he was going to see an old friend. Who could that be? How could Legolas even have a friend in this time?
He had also said that he needed something from him. I wonder if this had something to do with the necklace. Or was I completely wrong and had to follow a different path?
"You're thinking very loudly."
I winced hard, jerked my head up and leaned as far away as his arms would allow. My heart was racing. "You scared the hell out of me!"
"I didn't mean to."
There was an awkwardly silent pause and I felt myself blushing again. "You can let go of me now."
He didn't reply, but opened his arms and I moved away from him. Immediately, the cold overtook me and I shivered. Not wanting to succumb to the temptation to crawl back to my source of warmth, I stood up and bounced up and down several times. Then I gathered up my clothes, which had dried in the meantime, and changed.
As I finished, the first light of dawn crept in through the windows, casting the chapel in an unreal light. Legolas was standing in front of one of the windows, looking out. He seemed very still, almost distant. I stopped indecisively, ran my fingers through my hair, and tugged at my T-shirt. Should I approach him?
I gave myself a jolt. "Can we go?"
"I'm not sure."
"What do you mean?"
He turned around and I saw that he was holding the necklace in his hands. "I'm connected to it, and it's connected to me. I was able to find you because I put the necklace in your pocket before you... were afraid."
I bypassed his hesitation and asked instead, "So?"
"It also points the way to my friend's whereabouts. While you were changing, I walked a few meters and it pointed me in the right direction. However, if I went too far, it instructed me to turn back."
Interesting. The necklace had a touch of Jack's compass from Pirates of the Caribbean, but I could hardly tell Legolas that. I reasoned. "If it wanted you to go back, then your friend must be nearby."
"But this is a graveyard."
"Yes." I let the word hang in the air and noticed Legolas fold his arms.
"I had hoped to find him alive," he murmured softly. His expression turned sad for a split second.
"Maybe he's just hiding here, just like us."
"I'm not hiding." His voice sounded firm again, almost a little indignant.
I rolled my eyes. "Of course not."
He gave me a look and I hid my smirk by turning my head away. "What are you suggesting?"
"Me?", I asked, a bit taken aback, since he had always been the one having control until now, pushing me ahead of him at a pace that had eventually caused me to flee. Obviously, he seemed to have had exactly the same thought and was now trying to include me. Very flattering. I cleared my throat. "What do you think about just trusting the necklace?"
He shrugged. "We can try."
With that, he turned and walked toward the door of the chapel, the bundle of stuff over his shoulder. I followed him.
Before he stepped out, he made a careful examination of the surroundings. I was standing right behind him, tiptoeing to see something. "Is there anything out there?"
"Well, for sure there's something there."
Ouch. That had sounded pretty cocky. I frowned.
Had I done something wrong, or was I just imagining the undertone? I decided to overhear him for now and followed Legolas out of the chapel, which he had already left.
The rain clouds of yesterday had disappeared and the morning sun was shining in a blue sky. If there hadn't been gravestones everywhere, I would have felt almost cheerful.
I hurried to catch up with Legolas to keep pace with him. We walked for a while through the graveyard, until the elf stopped and turned in a slow circle. He hadn't said a word since we left the chapel, and I couldn't help but feeling that something was wrong. He had never been much of a talker since we had met, but I knew the difference between silence and being silent. Might it have had something to do with his friend? If he had fully expected to find him alive, the cemetery had to frighten him. Should I ask?
Better not. Something told me that I would either get a meaningless answer or no answer at all. So, for better or worse, I had to focus on the job at hand and wait for him to either bring up the subject himself or just forget about it. I sighed. "What does the necklace say?"
"This is where I stood earlier and then walked back."
"So this is the dead spot?"
"Yes."
I looked around. To our left was another mausoleum. It looked older than the one I had sat down on a bench in front of yesterday. But maybe that was just because it was less well kept. There was moss everywhere and leaves from last fall still lay on the steps, fused together into an indefinable mass. The door seemed tightly locked and very defensible with its rivet attachments on black metal.
I walked toward it. Something bothered me about it. It was an indistinct feeling, close to the edge of consciousness. It must have caught my eye without me really looking, otherwise I couldn't explain the attraction it held for me. I approached the mausoleum and felt Legolas walking right behind me. His presence calmed me and I relaxed a little, almost like yesterday when I had fallen asleep in his arms. My heart leapt at the thought and I tried to push away the feeling that was now spreading through me as quickly as it had come. The door, I had to focus on the door.
And then I saw it: the entrance to the crypt had a knocker.
