Breakfast continued in such a way, with Aragorn scooting his chair ever closer to me and Legolas' back turned whilst I was busy glancing up to make sure Malian had really stopped staring. I could not, however, refrain from catching snippets of conversation here and there; I tried to seem inconspicuous as I listened to a few of the what must have been Elves in the army. They whispered of nameless evils, a shadow growing in the East and something about the Dark Lord. When Thranduil finally made to leave (and we were all expected to stand as he exited), I grabbed Legolas by the arm and steered him away from Kaethe before either of them could protest.
"What in all Arda--"
"Oh, shut up Greenleaf and listen. From what I gathered at the table this morning, Mirkwood is in a whole lot more trouble than I had thought. What is all this about the Dark Lord? I overheard a great deal about Dol Guldur, and don't pretend you have no idea what I'm on about." Legolas looked altogether frightened and, from the look on his face, would rather gouge out his own eye than have this conversation. "Leaf, what is going on?" Legolas shook his head and I pinched the sensitive tip of his ear. He whimpered in pain.
"Alright, alright, I'll tell you, just let go!" he finally pleaded after my grip on his ear tip had tightened. I promptly released him, and his hand flew to his ear, rubbing it comfortingly. He sighed as I stamped my foot impatiently at him. "Look, I don't know much—I really don't!" he exclaimed at my suspicious glare. "All I know is that nigh on six hundred years ago, the Dark Lord Sauron reestablished himself at Dol Guldur in southern Mirkwood and since then, all the signs have been troubling." I gaped, and Legolas looked at me carefully. "I figured that's why you left this place before it got worse. I know your parents told you they had simply grown weary of Mirkwood, but I know better, especially now. Of course, no one knew for certain that Sauron had really returned to Middle-earth until Gandalf confirmed it in 2850 of our Age, but Elves are of very intuitive natures and rumors from the East had reached many ears." I raised an inquiring eyebrow at him and he took a deep breath before continuing. "Didn't you notice on your way in that the flets in the trees were scarcely of the same number they were when you left? Elves have fled this place, Laina! Everyone is scared; Orcs have been in and out of our Wood for too long. Sauron was driven out of Dol Guldur only sixty-eight years ago by the White Council."
"Orcs? The White Council?"
"A group of Elves and Wizards, headed by Saruman the White, formed to drive out Sauron from our Wood," Legolas explained. "As for the Orcs—they have come in numbers across our Wood, scheming and pillaging. Did you notice our guards everywhere? They are lurking in the woods, and we have some outside of the doors to the castle at all times. We are on the defensive, and I'm not sure what will happen next. The last sign that something big is stirring came when you turned up; Aragorn, the rightful King of Gondor, leading a half-dead Hobbit-like creature on a leash? Surely you thought something was shifty about that?"
"Well, I knew Gandalf had sent Aragorn here, but Gandalf is always meddling and I figured it was no more of a dangerous task than any Gandalf is notorious for instigating." Legolas seemed to accept this as a sound reason for my momentary lapse in observation, and he nodded as if lost in thought.
"That is all I know on the subject," he finally said after a while. "And you would do best not to eavesdrop on division leaders anymore," he added sternly. I cocked my head at him.
"Maybe you should tell your division leaders not to talk so loud about things they don't want heard," I snapped. Legolas looked a bit taken aback, but his eyes cleared almost instantly and he returned to his normal self.
"If your ears weren't so big--" he began playfully, but Kaethe fumbled into our path out of nowhere and he caught himself. "I must take your leave now, Laina, and hope to see you at the Fall Festival tonight." Kaethe seemed pleased and she glided past us; I could tell she thoroughly expected Legolas to trail her wherever she went. "Don't wear what you have learned on your sleeve," Legolas warned.
"Perhaps I should simply not wear sleeves?" I muttered flirtatiously.
"Ooh, or nothing at all?" Legolas suggested, winking at me before disappearing quickly on Kaethe's heel. I wanted to exclaim how unendurably cheeky he had just been, but thought it best to keep my mouth shut. Instead, I hurried off to my room, hoping I'd run into Aragorn along the way.
Someone must have heard my silent plea, because, while lost in thought, I was nearly knocked clean off my feet on the way to my room. I caught my breath in time to see Aragorn before he grabbed me by the hand and pulled me into the nearest room, which just so happened to be mine.
"They're after me," Aragorn whispered, cautiously closing the door. I burst out laughing. "What? You warned me about them! Now they're following me as dogs would on a hunt."
"Or like rangers would on a scent?" I suggested. Aragorn rolled his eyes. "On a completely different note, Aragorn," I began, "why didn't you tell me exactly the reason we came here in the first place?"
"I told you that Gandalf ordered me to bring Gollum here," Aragorn replied, clearly confused.
"But you never said why! Legolas told me about Sauron, and I want you to fill in the gaps." Aragorn's face became slightly sickly-looking and he was obviously hesitant to tell me anything. "Aragorn, please." He looked at me sadly but shook his head.
"I can't," he answered. Well, as they say, desperate times call for desperate measures. Before another word was muttered, I slipped one sleeve of my dress off of my shoulder. It fell elegantly to my elbow. Aragorn was, of course, staring at me intently. I let the second sleeve fall before pulling my dress down completely. Underneath, I wore a corset and bloomers, but Aragorn wasn't worried about that. He shuffled toward me hungrily, grabbing me forcefully and planting a longing kiss on my neck. "Excuse me, Mister Almost-King-of-Gondor, I don't think Mrs. Almost-Queen-of-Gondor would approve," I began, but his searing kisses were running up my neck now, toward my ear.
"Tell me what you want me to do," Aragorn murmured in my ear. Dammit, I had started this and I really had to finish it. I placed one hand on his chest, and, trying not to notice the rippling muscles underneath his clothes, ran the hand down his front side, reaching his groin. I gave an expert squeeze, and Aragorn gasped for air.
"Tell me why we brought Gollum here," I whispered in his ear before biting his ear lobe suggestively. His knees buckled and he nearly fell on the floor in front of me, melting into a little puddle of Aragorn.
"Because--" he began, but he gasped again as I began to rub the flesh beneath his trousers. "Because—Gollum knows—the whereabouts—of—" he stopped and made not to continue, but I grabbed one of his hands and placed it on my breast before giving another expertly-delivered rub. "Of—the One Ring." I immediately moved my hand, my jaw dropped.
"The One Ring?" I asked incredulously. Aragorn seemed to snap back into reality because he quickly moved his hand from my breast and took a step back, his eyes wide. I pulled my dress up hurriedly and moved as close to him as I could. "That's not possible." Aragorn did not respond. "You know I will never leave you alone until you tell me everything you know," I threatened. Aragorn gulped.
"Laina, oh Laina," he muttered, moving his head to kiss my lips. I pulled back, slightly disgusted.
"Quit thinking with your—well, you know, and tell me what in Arda is happening, Aragorn. The One Ring has been found, and this—this—creature knows where it is?" Aragorn nodded sheepishly. "And he's here because Gandalf is afraid Sauron's forces will catch him and torture him until he gives them a location." Aragorn nodded again. My deduction skills had proven themselves. "What makes us think Gollum hasn't already given the location to the Dark Lord?"
"That's the problem," Aragorn whispered, "Gollum has." I gaped in disbelief, not daring to move for fear the entire world would shatter. "Damn you, Laina," Aragorn whispered at length.
"I had to know," I said, trying to make my voice as nonchalant as possible, but it came out in a whisper. "What happens next?" I finally got the nerve to ask.
"We can only guess," Aragorn replied. We were still whispering.
"He'll send out his forces—"
"His darkest forces—"
"To retrieve the Ring. Where is it, Aragorn?"
"It lies in wait far West of here," he replied, moving over to the bed and sitting on it as if he had been running for a full day. "It will not be soon, I think, because Sauron is not yet strong enough, and his allies not prepared enough, to seek the Ring. Sauron has overlooked the world of the Hobbits for now, and in that we are lucky."
"Hobbits?"
Aragorn chuckled, breaking the spell. "Can you imagine? Yes, I think it is safe to say we should not yet worry ourselves with such dark tidings."
"How can we simply ignore them?" I cried.
"Because we must, for now," Aragorn answered shortly. "We will know when it is time, but now we must enjoy the world without darkness, as long as it lasts." With that, Aragorn exited (still a bit embarrassed, I could tell from the seriousness in his voice), and left me to ponder what would happen with a Hobbit, the One Ring, and the Dark Lord.