World-classgeek: yes, Legolas will have difficulties explaining Middle Earth and his nature. We see the start of that in this chapter!
Blackunicorne: yes, Gimli will be in the story, but much later...
Morwen80: sorry for the wait, I went on vacation for two weeks...
Paperlanterns86: you are right about the elves not getting tattoos, but I have a whole concept behind them. I hope you will like it!
Hirilnin: the wall will be hard and unexpected, but he will recover gracefully:-)
SleepyHollow 5: the truth comes out in this chapter, but not in the way he would have liked...
faye50free: sorry for the wait, I know you are impatient to get new chapters!
Foofie01: I am happy that you like Phoebe. I had doubts about making her the warrior in the beginning, but I am now confident that she will be great.
KKK3: yes, I tried to imagine how someone from Middle Earth would react to this unknown thing... Glad you found it funny.
Glory Bee: I am glad that you like the new children. I really wanted to make a different story, and different children helps me accomplish that.
Manwathiel-Nanethiel: she won't be exactly be calm when she hears the truth about Legolas' nature...
Fi: yes, there are rougher times ahead, but he will do what he has to do to gain her back...
Aureleis: Yes, Phoebe is really cute, and the boys will take a greater role in this chapter. And don't worry for Legolas...
Peridot Eyez: he won't be telling her the truth on his own schedule... That's the wall I was talking about!
Daenerys of Lorien: we will see Haldir in this story, and I already have plans about Haldir's fëa... Stay tuned (although it will be much later in the story).
And many thanks to Ninu, KrystylSky, Sarafinja, Gorron, gri, RajaniHala, EllethofMirkwood (thanks for the great comment!) for their nice reviews.
I am so happy with the positive reactions this fic is getting! Thanks a lot for your support!
Chapter 6 ended with:
But Legolas was on his way to gaining her heart. He would need to move fast and start talking about his true nature and the reason for his presence in her world, now that they loved each other.
Chapter 7 - Exposed
Two weeks later, Allison decided to drop by Valerie's house before dinner, and she was currently helping Paola preparing the meal while her sister was on her way back home with Phoebe. The boys were playing in the backyard with Valerie's new boyfriend Legolas. There had been an unusual snow storm the day before, quite early in the season. It had paralysed the city for the day, and Allison had decided to join her sister's family to enjoy the evening with them instead of going out with some friends.
As she was cutting some vegetables and watching her nephews by the kitchen window, she realized that something was strange, but she couldn't pinpoint what the problem was... until she saw Sean and Legolas jump up and down in the snow. Sean and Liam had snow up to theirs ankles, while Legolas seemed to be standing on the snow. Standing on the snow? That was not possible. He was a grown man. He was not heavy by any stretch of the imagination, but he was much heavier than the boys. He must be standing on a hard patch of ice! She walked to the refrigerator, took out some peppers and started cutting them in small slices, her eyes going back to the men outside while Paola was complaining about the pain in her back. She dropped her knife when she saw Legolas still standing on the snow, in a completely different area of the backyard. The boys were still with him, this time with snow almost up to their knees.
"Did you cut yourself, darling?" Paola asked.
Allison's mind was racing at a hundred miles per hour. Legolas had appeared out of nowhere in her sister's life, coming from a country that he had not specifically identified. He had this strange, ethereal beauty, his eyes were the eyes of a very old man, a man that had seen wars, beginnings, a man that had loved, that had grieved, a man that had lived a full life. His eyes were too old for his face. And his ears? She had noticed the first time she had met him that his ears were strangely pointy. He usually hid them under his long, golden hair, and most people didn't notice them. And, last but not least, Legolas had the ability to walk on snow.
Allison was a doctor, a scientific. She didn't believe in aliens, in paranormal, in anything that was not scientifically proved. There had to be an explanation, and she would get it before her sister got hurt. She knew Valerie had feelings for him, stronger than with any boyfriend she had had before. She would dismiss any argument that Allison would tell her to separate them, unless it was supported by indisputable evidence. She would get that evidence. She was a doctor after all.
She decided not to have dinner with them. When Valerie arrived with Phoebe, Allison reminded her that they were due for their annual blood tests. She went to her car where she was keeping her medical bag and took out the necessary supplies to take blood samples. She took the samples from the children, Paola and then Valerie. Legolas was watching her with interest. When she turned to him, she knew he immediately understood that she wanted to take some of his blood too. He didn't hesitate and put his arm on the table, ready. She realized he had no idea what she was planning to do with his blood.
She didn't wait for the next morning, and brought the samples back to the hospital immediately, and asked the lab to do the usual tests as a priority.
A week later, she received the reports from the lab. She glanced through the children's, who were all healthy as they had always been. Paola's was a little worrisome, and Allison would need to do a follow-up with her. She then looked at Legolas' report, and saw that the lab had put a note for her in the file. The blood sample seemed to have been in contact with other substances, it said, since the DNA was not matching human DNA. They had not detected any diseases, but how reliable were the results with a contaminated blood sample?
Allison felt her own blood freeze in her veins. The blood sample had not been contaminated. Legolas was not human. What was he? Would he harm her sister and her children?
She took her phone and dialed Valerie's number. Liam answered and he talked for a while, describing his homework on some book he had read. She distractedly listened, hoping that she could speak to Valerie quickly once he was done. She opened Valerie's file, sure that everything was fine with her sister. She glanced through the results, and saw another note at the bottom of the report, highlighted in bright pink. Pregnancy confirmed. The words made Allison dizzy. Valerie was pregnant, and without a doubt, Legolas was the father. A non-human father. A non-human child also?
"Did you want to speak to Mom?" Liam asked once he was finally done. "Aunt Allison?" he asked again when she remained silent, still shocked by the lab's note.
"Liam," she whispered. "Is Legolas at your house?"
"Yes, he is," Liam confirmed. "He practically lives here now!"
"Will you tell your mother..." she hesitated for a second, but made her decision quickly. The situation was critical. Her sister had put herself in the worst mess possible, once again. "Tell your mother that I will drop by tonight."
"We are about to go to bed," he protested. "Why didn't you come earlier? We won't see you!"
"I promise to come back again tomorrow," she told him. They would see a lot of her in the next few days, as she picked up the pieces of Valerie's heart all over again. And told her that she needed to get an abortion. What kind of being was growing in her stomach at this very moment?
She took her coat, her purse, and left her office with their files. She had the indisputable proof that Valerie would require. But somehow, she was unhappy to have been right. She felt like an executioner on her way to work.
OoOoO
Legolas was watching TV while the children were already in bed. Allison had asked Valerie to join her in the kitchen for a private, sisterly talk, and he was not paying attention to their whispers until he heard Valerie scream at Allison that she was a liar. He didn't know if he should join them as Allison was obviously distressing Valerie, or if he should just remain in the living room. In the end, he decided not to intrude, but started listening intently to what the sisters were saying to each other.
"The blood sample was contaminated!" Valerie was telling Allison.
"It was not contaminated! I took the necessary precautions and our lab has very competent employees. The blood sample was abnormal because Legolas is not normal! He doesn't have human DNA."
Legolas' heart came to a stop. Allison was about to blow his cover. He had never thought that Allison could use his blood to detect the fact that he was not from this world. He had simply given his blood, hoping that Allison could do the tests that Valerie had mentioned three weeks before when the condom had unfortunately been torn.
"Coming from you, a doctor, this is priceless! Tell me what he is, if he is not human?" Valerie whispered furiously, unaware that despite her low tone, Legolas could still hear everything, even her rapid heartbeat and her ragged breathing.
"I have no idea! He is some sort of different being. He arrived from nowhere, his ears are strange, his physical perfection is unearthly..."
"Why are you trying to ruin my happiness? For the first time in my life, I am truly in love with someone. Are you jealous? Why would you invent such idiocies? Yes, his ears are pointy. Does that make him a monster? And yes, he is probably the most gorgeous man we have ever seen! Since when is that a crime? Since when exceptional physical beauty and a slight physical defect became inhuman?"
"You forget the blood."
"It was contaminated!"
"Val... He can walk on snow."
"So can we! And everyone else for that matter!"
"No, I mean that he walks ON snow. Above it. He doesn't sink in the snow."
"That is ridiculous!"
"I saw him! Oh Val, you are in the middle of a mess again! He is not human, I am telling you! And your baby won't be either!"
"My baby?" Valerie asked, her voice surprised. Legolas didn't understand what Allison was talking about.
"Don't tell me you didn't know?" Allison asked regretfully.
Valerie stayed silent for a while, but eventually described the condom incident to her sister.
"How far along are you?" Allison asked.
"Not long. It happened 3 weeks ago. I have only been late a week."
At that point, Legolas completely forgot about Allison's suspicions, and felt immense joy at the thought that his Valerie was already carrying a child of the prophecy. They would be parents! He briefly wondered how she could have gotten pregnant while he didn't make a specific wish for them to have a child. Thinking back at his state of mind each time they made love, he could not deny that he had been thrilled to have found his fëa-mate, and that he had wanted the prophecy to take place. Maybe that had been enough to trigger the pregnancy? Obviously! In the kitchen, the sisters were no longer whispering but violently debating.
"I am not getting an abortion!" Valerie screamed, and he heard the distinct noise of a fist hitting the kitchen counter.
"The baby's father is not human! The baby won't be human either!"
"Allison, get out of my house!"
"Valerie, listen to me! You are making a big mistake and -"
"Get out! Go join our parents and our brother! You are no better than them!"
"Do not insult me! I am doing this for your own good!"
"You know nothing about what I need or what makes me happy. Leave my house and do not come back until you are ready to apologize to Legolas for insulting him so!"
"I cannot leave! Val, you need to listen to me!"
Legolas jumped out of the couch when he heard the tell-tale noises of someone being dragged against their will. He stood in the middle of the living room, stunned, as he saw a hard-faced Valerie pull and push a furious Allison through the hallway, to the main entrance and finally push her out the door. She quickly locked the door to ensure Allison would not come back in. Seeing her sister's purse and coat in the vestibule, she took her house key out of the purse, quickly reopened the door and sent it flying in the snow with the coat, right beside Allison.
"Have a nice life, Allison Thompson!" she said, before closing the door again. Valerie wiped the furious tears on her face and turned to Legolas.
"What was that about?" he asked innocently. He was feeling guilty. After all, Allison had been right in all her assumptions and facts. But he couldn't really tell Valerie. Not yet. Not while she was in this state.
"My sister just joined the Thompson Club. The club of people who cannot bear to see me happy."
"What happened?"
"She tried to separate us by insulting my intelligence. Not her cleverest move."
"She will regret and apologize," he predicted.
"She better if she wants to set foot in this house again. I have to go out in the backyard. You guys have left my target outside again."
"Let me go get it."
"No! I need the cold air to calm down. And I would like to be alone for a while. Finish watching the news, we can go to bed later."
Legolas watched her put her winter coat on and go out by the back door. He watched her disassemble the archery target and lift the heavy wooden pieces with difficulty. He suddenly remembered that she was carrying his child. She should not be lifting anything heavier than a small bag! He opened the door and ran to the end of the backyard.
"I told you I needed to be alone!" she said a bit curtly. She turned around and watched him with annoyance, and at that exact moment, he realized his mistake. There she was, in the snow up to her knees while he was standing on the snow, right in front of her. In the moonlight. He saw her expression change slowly, her eyes widening and her lips trembling. She dropped the pieces of the target at his feet.
"Allison was right," she whispered, fixing him with frightened eyes. "Stand back!" she cried when he tried to come closer.
"Vanima - beautiful," he said, desperate to be given the chance to explain.
"Leave my house!" she screamed, picking up a piece of the wooden target to use it as a club to protect herself.
"Let me explain -" he turned his head in the direction of the house, where he could see some light. Liam had opened his curtains and was watching them warily.
"I will ask Liam to call the security guards if you do not leave immediately!"
"Valerie!" he insisted, walking towards her, only aggravating his case by displaying his unnatural ability to walk on snow. His skin was glowing under the moonlight, proclaiming his affiliation to a superior race. Valerie took a step back, contemplating him with both awe and terror.
"Liam!" she screamed. "Call the security!"
Legolas wasn't sure if Liam could hear his mother from inside the house, but when he saw his expression turn to fear and his sudden disappearance, he knew he didn't have much time left.
"Valerie, I am begging you, let me explain!"
"Do not hurt them, please!" she begged in return. "Do not hurt my children!"
"I would never hurt any of you!"
"Then leave! Whatever it is that you are, leave us alone! I cannot deal with this!"
They started hearing a siren, coming at full speed from the main gate, confirming that Liam had indeed called the security guards. Legolas had to leave if he didn't want to be arrested and interrogated. He watched the woman he loved, his destined fëa-mate, the woman carrying his child. All his future was falling apart, exploding in millions of pieces right before his eyes, and there was nothing he could do. His sense of survival took over. He delicately caressed her cold cheek, relieved that she didn't avoid the contact, and with one last glance, he ran to the end of the backyard, entering the forest and jumping above the fence protecting the small community.
OoOoO
Legolas was getting desperate. He had not heard Valerie's voice in a week and had only seen her from afar. Observing her in her house was no longer possible, since security guards were doing patrols around her home at all times. As far as he could tell, Allison was the one who had organized such stringent security around her sister and her children.
Valerie was no longer answering his calls, at home or on her cell phone. Rose, her assistant, was telling him in the coldest of voices that Ms. Thompson would not speak to him. He had seen Valerie going to work that very morning, when she had left her car to the valet in front of the building. She looked sick. She was pale, keeping her eyes down, her beautiful green eyes now having dark circles underneath. She had done her hair in an uncharacteristically simple braid, and was wearing what she used to call weekend clothes on a week day. Was she unwell because of the pregnancy or because of their separation? Was she suffering as much as he was? Missing him at every moment of the day like he was? He had almost ran to her but had resisted the overwhelming desire and need to take her in his arms. And now, alone in his room while Kate and her other guests were having dinner, he regretted his decision to give her some space. Giving Valerie some space had been Kate's idea. She had assumed it was a simple lovers quarrel, and had made him promise to give Valerie some time to think about the events and forgive him whatever small mistake he had made.
Looking back at the past two months, he realized that he had had no possible way of telling Valerie that he was an elf from a different world and to see her react positively to that. Any way that she could hear about it would have ended up with her cutting all contacts with him. But maybe it would have been slightly better if she had not heard about it from her sister, had a fight with her only to find out that Allison had been right the whole time. Maybe, maybe if he had told her himself, in his own terms and on his own schedule, the facts could have been discussed between them without the involvement of an overprotective sister and security guards.
He put his face in his hands, negative feelings he had never felt before twirling in his head. He loved her, of that he was absolutely certain. Would he fade without her? Would he go back to Middle Earth and seek death at the hands of his enemies? Or stay here forever, watching her from afar, despairing to see her life going on without him?
He was startled when he heard a sound he had not heard in a long time. His cell phone, the one Valerie had given him to be able to contact him at any time, was ringing somewhere underneath a pile of clothes. Only one person had ever called him on this phone. Could she possibly be calling him? He jumped to the floor and found his phone, relieved to see her name displayed on the screen.
"Valerie?" he answered feverishly. There was no answer. All he could hear was the soft, shallow breathing of little lungs. "Phoebe, is that you?" he whispered, disappointed but surprisingly happy to know Valerie's daughter was calling him. He had missed the three children tremendously, having grown attached to them in the weeks he had spent at their house.
Her only answer were whimpers. "Phoebe, do not cry, my sweet darling," he consolingly told her. "You are a big, courageous girl."
"I miss you," she whispered between soft sobs.
"I miss you too. How are things at home?"
Before Phoebe had time to answer him, he heard Sean's voice in the background, asking his sister to give him the phone. Legolas listened to their voices as they fought for the phone, expecting the communication to be cut as soon as Sean took possession of it. But the boy surprised him.
"Legolas? When are you coming back home? Mommy is always crying, and we all miss you. Whatever she did, I am sure she is sorry now. Please come back!"
Legolas realized Valerie had not spoken to her children about the reason behind their separation. Sean and Phoebe were under the impression that Valerie had made a mistake and that he was the one staying away.
"Sean, it is more complicated than that..."
"Do you love my mother?" he asked with his usual lack of subtlety.
"Yes, I do. Very much."
"Then come back. We are not happy without you and -" Sean suddenly stopped and Legolas heard Phoebe cry in fright.
"What are you doing with Mom's cell phone?" Liam's voice said in the background. "Who are you calling?" Their guilty silence was clearly an admission, and Liam knew exactly who was at the end of the line. Legolas heard some commotion, and then Liam's voice yelled to his siblings to leave the room. After much complaints, Sean and Phoebe complied, and Legolas wondered why Liam was not hanging up. He got his answer shortly after.
"How can you use small children to get what you want? This is low, even for you!" Liam spat in the phone.
"They called me," Legolas defended himself.
"And you could have hung up, like any decent man would have done." Legolas doubted that and Liam had obviously no life experience to judge what a decent man would have done in his exact situation. "You know my mother wouldn't be happy to hear about that. You are lucky that I want to spare her more grief. You have caused her enough pain already."
"How is she, Liam?" Legolas begged. Of the three children, he was the only one mature enough to be able to give him an accurate answer.
"Why would you care? You abandoned her! Pregnant to make matters worse!"
"You know about that?"
"I heard my mother and my aunt talk about it. Aunt Allison was trying to convince her to get an abortion."
Legolas remembered the word he had heard before, without knowing its significance. It looked serious by the way Liam had pronounced it. "Liam? What is an abortion?"
"Seriously? You don't know what it is?"
"I do not know that word. Never heard it in English before."
"It is when a mother decides that she doesn't want a baby. They remove the child during an operation, and the pregnancy stops."
"What happens with the child?" Legolas wondered out loud.
"What do you think happens with the child, Legolas? The baby is not viable when they do it."
Legolas was horrified. Allison was trying to convince Valerie to get rid of their child. One of the elven kings. And although he had heard Valerie discard the possibility while Allison and her were talking about it, it had been before she had discovered he was not human. That could have more than likely changed Valerie's opinion.
"Did she make a decision yet?" he asked.
"Not that I know of. But why would you care?" Liam replied coldly.
"I care, Liam, please believe me when I say I care. I love your mother. She asked me to leave."
"What did you do?" the child asked, surprised by his last statement. If his mother had broken up with Legolas, why was she crying when she thought her children were not around?
"I... I lied about something."
"About what? I mean, it must have been a big lie, because we lie to her all the time and she doesn't stay angry for long when she finds out."
"I lied... about my origins."
"Does it have anything to do with your blood tests?"
Legolas was speechless.
"Will you answer me? Does it have anything to do with the tests?"
"How do you know about that?"
"My mother left the documents on her desk the other night. I read them the next day. It said that your blood was strange."
"Yes."
"Yes what?"
"Yes, my blood is strange."
"What is strange about it?"
Legolas had never imagined that he would be having this conversation with Valerie's oldest son. He had no idea what to say.
"Listen, Legolas," Liam said impatiently, definitely taking over the control of the conversation. "I am the scientific person in this family. I read about stuff my mother doesn't even know about. I am certain we are not alone in the universe. And I am certain that somewhere, in the billions of people living on this planet, some humans are different. Better or worse, but different. If you are one of them, I am the best person to discuss it with."
"I am sorry, Liam... I am not sure -"
"You look relatively normal to me," Liam continued. "Although your ears are strange. You feel different also, like you have a different aura. That's something that is really off with you. No one notices it, but you attract people to you. And don't think I haven't realized that thing you do with the snow, even if Sean and Phoebe haven't noticed it. Legolas? Are you going to say something?" Liam asked, wondering why Legolas was so silent.
"No."
"You don't want to talk about it?"
"No. Not with you. It is with your mother that I should be speaking with."
"I am all you've got, Legolas. It is time that you realize that!" There was silence after, and in the background, Legolas heard Valerie's voice calling her children. He closed his eyes, listening intently to the voice of his love. Valar, he missed her even more now that he had heard her speak. Unbearable pain in his chest made him bend in two, still clutching his phone between his fingers. "I have to go before my mother realizes her cell phone is missing," Liam continued. "When you are ready to talk, you know where to find me."
Legolas stared at the phone for a long time after Liam had suddenly cut the communication. A worried Kate entered his room shortly after.
"Legolas?" she asked, sitting beside him on his bed. "I heard you speak to someone. Did she finally call you?" she asked, hopeful. The sorry state the man was in since his breakup was troubling her greatly. He seemed very attached to his childhood friend and her children, and she had rarely seen such abrupt deterioration of someone's health following a breakup. He almost seemed to believe that life was not worth living without this Valerie Thompson in his life.
"No..." Kate took the cell phone from his hand and looked at the last number that had called.
"She called you!" she insisted.
"No! Her children did!"
"What did they say?"
Legolas tried to recall what had been said exactly. "Phoebe and Sean miss me."
"And what about Liam? He always gave you more trouble."
"Liam? He... He wants to see me in person. To discuss."
"About what?"
"About what happened with his mother, I guess."
"When are you meeting him?"
"I was not planning to meet him."
"Why not?" Kate asked, bewildered.
"Valerie wouldn't be happy about that."
"Yes, that is probably true. But... Legolas, you seem so... destroyed by what happened. If Liam is an ally, you shouldn't hesitate."
"He is just a child, Kate!"
"I don't think he is just a child. You told me much about him that makes me believe he is much more clever than the average child. Furthermore, he is so advanced in his schooling that he has the maturity of an older teenager. And quite frankly, if she doesn't forgive you meeting with her son at his insistence, what worse could happen than your current separation?"
"Nothing."
"That's right! There is very little risk that the situation will get worse. But Liam could help you make things better."
She enclosed him in a tender embrace. She had grown very attached to Legolas since his arrival at her house. He was different than any other young man she had ever met. He had always seemed so sure of himself, so strong, until his breakup with Valerie. He had not told her what had gone wrong, but she knew he had made some mistakes. And she would help him fix them so he could find his smile back.
"Are you hungry? I always found it difficult to think on an empty stomach. What would you like to eat?"
"I do not feel like eating."
"You mean you don't feel like eating with the others?" she guessed. "I will bring you something to eat here, in your room. If you meet Valerie soon, you have to look good. You have lost a bit of weight lately."
Legolas ate the food she brought him later and spent most of the night debating if he would meet with Liam or not. Before dawn, his decision was taken. He got dressed quickly and ran to the fence near Valerie's house. He climbed it skillfully and walked stealthily in the woods in her backyard, looking for a security guard. To his surprise, he saw none. Had Allison decided that he was no longer a threat to her sister? Assessing his options, he decided that he needed to have Liam come out of the house before Valerie woke up. He looked at his watch. It would be another 30 minutes before she woke up, if she still followed her usual schedule. Taking some snow in his hands and making a snowball out of it, he threw it in the direction of Liam's window. The snowball exploded on impact and did a thud much louder than he had expected. Cursing himself, he watched Valerie's window but saw no movements at all. She had always been a heavy sleeper. But not Liam.
He saw Liam's face at his window, looking in the backyard for the source of the noise. He seemed to realize what the snow on his window meant and started screening the woods. Legolas came out of the trees and waved, seeing the recognition instantly on Liam's face. The boy waved back and made a gesture for Legolas to come in the house, by his window. The lack of trees near the window would have been an issue for any man, but not for an elf. Using all his skills, Legolas climbed to the high window on the second floor, just using the bricks and lower windows to help him while Liam was opening his window. In a matter of moments, the elf was facing Valerie's oldest child, who was watching him with interest.
"You are an exceptional climber," was all he said.
"Yes, I have many years of experience," Legolas replied with a small smile.
"We don't have much time. My mother will wake up soon," Liam whispered. "Did you think about what I said? Are you ready to talk to me?"
"Yes... I think so. Although I am not sure about... where to start."
"Let me help you then. I came up with two theories," the little scholar said, pointing at many pages of notes and pages he had printed from various websites. "You either are some genetic super being, or you are coming from a different place altogether. Which one is it?"
Stunned by the brutal introduction, Legolas was destabilized. Elven scholars for one, were generally recognized for their diplomacy and subtlety. In this, Liam was his mother's son and lacked both. Scholars also had gentle tempers, he thought, watching Liam getting impatient with his delay in answering a question the child thought was simple enough. "I am... a bit of both."
"Meaning?"
"Where I come from, there are men and women like you. And my race... is considered... a superior one."
"Why?"
"Because we have... physical characteristics and knowledge that the other races do not have."
"So what are you? Are you an elf? Because I found some articles on elves. Although most of them are crap, I must admit, I still found some interesting ones on this race. They said that occurrences of elves and wizards appearing on Earth out of portals were reported in the past centuries, but that they always disappeared in the same manner a few days after, as if they were coming here to gather information and leave later."
"I have not heard of this before."
"The wizards were called Istari. One had been white, one blue, but the one that had been seen most frequently was an old man wearing grey. His last appearance was 75 years ago, in Brazil. That last time, he had been seen with another man with long silver hair, a long beard and pointy ears. Here, let me show you."
Liam went to his computer, and after typing a few words, was able to show Legolas a picture on a website. The black and white picture was old and unclear. But Legolas recognized them alright! Somewhere, somehow, 75 years before, someone had taken a picture of Mithrandir and Lord Cirdan the Shipwright as they were about to enter a portal similar to the one he had used to come here. He suddenly remembered that Mithrandir had mentioned being familiar with this world. And by some sort of miracle, a picture had been taken by a witness, and Liam had found it. He turned his gaze from the screen to the boy who was watching him attentively.
"You know them." It was not even a question. Liam had read recognition on his face.
"Yes."
"Are they your friends?"
"Not exactly. This one," he said, pointing Mithrandir, "is a wizard that had many dealings with the elves. And this other one is an elf, one of the oldest ones still living in Middle Earth. He is the lord of Mithlond, the Grey Havens, and builds ships to bring elves to Valinor. They are very close and have worked together on missions for the Valar -"
He stopped when he heard a sudden commotion in Valerie's room. Liam had heard it as well, because he turned in the direction of the door, listening intently. They heard Valerie run to her private bathroom and start vomiting. Legolas was about to go help her when Liam grabbed his arm.
"Don't go!" the child whispered. "She doesn't know you're here."
"But she needs help!"
"She doesn't need anyone to vomit, Legolas! And actually, that is great news for you. It is proof that she is still pregnant."
A bit scared by the child's cold reasoning but admitting he was right, Legolas remained hidden in the room, burning to go see Valerie who had rinsed her mouth and gone back to bed.
"She will wake us up in 15 minutes, and Paola will arrive a little later. We need to be quick," Liam continued. "I think you are not dangerous and -"
"I am a warrior," the elf replied, almost insulted.
Liam chuckled. "I have seen you with a bow. I am sure you are deadly. What I meant is that you don't seem to plan to harm us. In fact, you love my mother and my siblings a lot, I think. I have observed you."
"Yes, I love them." Legolas thought about Liam for a second before continuing. "And I know I could come to love you too, Liam, if you only gave me the chance. But you have been too busy keeping away from me, we never had the chance to get to know each other."
"My mother says I am all brains, no heart. Of course, she is joking, but I think there is a bit of truth in there."
Legolas thought of Lord Erestor, Middle Earth's greatest scholar and First Counsellor of Imladris, who was well known for his lack of emotions. "There is nothing wrong with having less emotions than the others, or hiding them well, Liam. My father for example, is well known for his coldness. But under that coldness lives an elf that has buoyant emotions, only, he is showing them exclusively to me. As long as you love your family and let them know of your love in your own way, who cares if you are cold with the others? As long as you don't shut out the people that are important to you..."
Liam was listening to him intently, understanding exactly what Legolas was trying to tell him. For years, Liam had been different than the others. More mature, more intelligent than his peers, and rejected by them for that reason, he had silently suffered and had accepted that his superiority was making him an outcast. He had shut out most of his emotions to concentrate on his studies and researches, knowing that one day, he would find his rightful place. And standing before him was a being telling him that it was okay to be different and to shut out the unimportant people, as long as he keep true to his loved ones.
"One day, Liam, if I win your mother back, you will find your place in my world. Many of my people are expecting your mother and your siblings, but they are waiting for you especially, as the greatest scholar Greenwood as ever seen. I recognize all the knowledge that you have, I see all these machines and structures that you build in your science projects, and I cannot stop thinking of everything you could build and create back home!"
Legolas was speaking passionately, and unfortunately louder than before, and Liam was lapping up everything the elf was telling him, not noticing the soft footsteps approaching his room, until the door opened and Valerie entered the room.
How will Valerie react to Legolas' presence in her home while she had forbid him to come back? How will he explain his elven nature and his mission?
This will be in the next chapter... Thanks for leaving a quick review to tell me if you liked the last chapter...
Annielle