Autumn and spring in love!
Ok, next chapter may seem a little movie, but it is still book-related! As the books are way better than the films!
Author's Note: Inspired by advice from Alma's Muse and The Axe and Bow: drabble collection. (Well some parts of the drabble collection!) Enjoy!
Pairings: Legolas/Gimli
This story contains slight… SLIGHT! SO SLIGHT IT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY! DO NOT BE PUT OFF! VERY, VERY, VERY! SLIGHT! ... L/A
But this is the last chapter in the fic with L/A! HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA! AFTER THIS CHAPTER THERE IS NO MORE L/A! NO MORE! MWAHAHAHAHA!
Warnings: Slash for certain! Oh yes!
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JRR Tolkien. No money is being made and no copyright infringement is intended. And I did not write the first little bit. That is 'Hallucination' by Cheysuli from the Axe and Bow drabble collection. No money made, no harm intended.
Chapter three- Thranduil and Lacuna
Legolas wept silently. He looked around him, all the married Rohirrim soldiers, it was just so depressing.
He had had the worst dream, or was it the best. A night of passion with the one he had desired for so long. He hated love. He HATED it! All these poems about how great love is, how amazing. Love was not amazing, it was painful. Poems were the biggest liars Legolas had ever heard of. And songs were a close second!
In his dream, he had spoken a love poem to Gimli. Neldorion had shown it to him, for it was written by none other then Thranduil himself. Legolas presumed that was why it made little sense. But according to Lacuna love did not have to make sense. For why would a young, wild and gentle, dark-haired stable maiden fall for a stubborn, moody and unpredictable elven king?
Legolas reached into his quiver and brought out a small pocket book. The quest had stained it with orc-blood, but he did not care so long as Legolas could still read the tiny writing. His mothers writing.
On the first page, it read Lacuna's Diary. Legolas smiled, for underneath that it read the elven words for Keep Out. But this book had been given to Legolas by his father, after his mother had died. When Legolas was just a few weeks old!
This was the only source of information Legolas had of his mother. Neldorion and Dudol never spoke of her, and whenever he asked Thranduil, the King would only whisper:
"I should have gone with her…" Then start weeping.
Legolas laughed lightly when he remembered the stable master telling him that as a young girl, Lacuna had written her diary in the common tongue to keep out snoopers! That was the only way Neldorion helped, teaching him the common tongue and how to read it.
Legolas did not miss his mother, as he never knew her. But not knowing her made him feel left out of something. It also pained him so much, knowing that his mothers' last words had gone to him. No-one knew what they were, and obviously he could not remember them. He felt that his mothers' last words had been wasted.
He opened the diary half-way.
(He chuckled again knowing what Lacuna had named her diary.)
Dear Dudol
I have now been promoted to a strange, but fun job. I now have to bring the King his horse. But he hardly ever rides?
Jayminer says that it's because he is soft on me! The King soft on me! Why I would rather bathe in the manure pile and dance naked with the pigmies then spend an hour with that stuck up toffee-nose that is our ruler!
Well, Jayminer is wrong anyway. How can old Thrandy fall for a stable hand!
No.
I am Lacuna. I love being a stable hand! I just love horses! (But the spiders creep me out a little.) I love the freedom to frolic freely and swim in the lakes with my friends. And I would not give up archery for anything! Not for all the dwarvern jewels!
Lacuna x
Legolas laughed. He turned the page.
Dear Dudol
For some reason, Thranduil keeps taking random rides in the forest. So I have not been able to write for weeks, I've been so blasted busy!
Again, Jayminer says that it is because the King is soft on me! Well he can go whore for a goblin! (If one cannot be rude in their diary, then when can one be rude? Never you say? Well who cares!)
I have planned my married life, but not who I may marry. I shall have three children. Two sons and a daughter.
Neldorion, DUDOL and my daughter shall be called Larien. Neldorion and Dudol will have dark hair and dark eyes and be very handsome. Well… well I suppose I shall have to marry a blond. As Larien simply MUST have golden locks! And her eyes shall be the spit to mine, emeralds!
And each child, I shall take to Rivendale to be personally blessed by Lord Elrond!
Ok then, that's a bit ambitious! But if one is not allowed ones heady dreams, what is one allowed. If one cannot day-dream, dream in sleep and fantasize. Then how can one make decisions, how can one live, how can one listen to ones heart. For one is always Queen of ones own dream world!
Lacuna x
Legolas decided to listen to his mothers' advice. For she was right. Legolas turned to the very last entry.
Dear Dudol- For the very last time!
I must now go and bathe in the manure pile, and dance with the pigmies for as many hours as for the rest of my life! I have agreed to marry Thranduil!
And we shall have two sons and a daughter!
Thranduil is not a stuck up toffee nose, he is amazing. He is funny and strong and everything I could ever wish for in a male. I love him.
And I shall love him forever, until the day I die. And since I am an elf that will be a very long time! And when I do die, Thranduil will be beside me, as my husband and king.
I love him.
So sadly, I must say goodbye dear Dudol. For now I have a spouse who I can share all my thought and dreams with. Whom I can share forever with. I love you dearly Dudol, my dearest friend!
I shall name my second son after you! I promise!
With Thranduil I have found my endless love. I shall hold him and care for him forever, and I know I said I shall never do this but…
I give up archery for him!
Goodbye Forever- Lacuna xxx
Legolas's tears hit the page. He inherited so much from Lacuna. The determination, the wit, the sarcasm, the love for horses, the fear of spiders, the love of freedom, the kind heart, the fetish for archery and the day-dreaming!
He had vowed never to be anything close to a friend to a dwarf, but now he loved one. So much that he would be willing to give up the joy of archery for him!
Re-reading the passage, Legolas felt a sting of failure for not being a girl! But he let the sting slip by without a second thought. But then another thought came, if he had been a girl, then he would not have a terrible secret which he desperately needed and wanted to tell Thranduil.
Maybe if he were a woman, Aragorn would have loved him many years ago. Or even better! Maybe Gimli would love him now!
He reached into his quiver again and pulled out something else. A white, sparkling diamond ring. Legolas kept it on a chain, but never actually wore it round his neck. He held the gem up to the moon to read off the gem itself the italic writing:
Lacuna and Thranduil.
Then he read inside the rings alloy-golden shape:
Amin Mela Lle
For this ring, had been his mother's engagement ring.
The morning, when they began the journey to Helms Deep. When he woke up after his dream, Gimli was dressed and gazing out his window. And Legolas felt a warm feeling, that maybe his wonderful dream had been real! But when the dwarf did speak, it was just companion words.
"Arise master elf. We leave soon, my friend!"
My friend. Not, love, but friend only.
Legolas slipped the ring and book back into his quiver.
Do not be afraid, my baby.
Legolas heard the voice in his head. It was strange, very strange.
Do not be afraid, my Legolas. My child. My son.
"Are you afraid?" He whispered, still not quite sure who the voice was, but willing to listen to it. As if by instinct.
I am afraid for you. Why would I not be?
"Who are you?" Legolas whispered.
You do not know?
"I have feeling."
Then follow it! Any feeling, any wish. You will regret it if you do not.
"If you are, who I think you are… Why did you go away?"
My baby it was not deliberate. No-one dies deliberately!
"But where were you when you went? Why was it only me there?"
The voice did not respond for a while, but eventually Legolas heard a whisper of…
Good luck, my baby. Follow your heart…
"Mother!" He yelled.
He was embarrassed, when he realised he had yelled. All the men were looking at him strangely; some were just irritated that Legolas had interrupted their sleep.
Legolas wandered over to where the one he loved slept. He cursed himself for being so weak!
"Legolas! Oh Legolas you fool!" He wept, falling to his knees. Gently with the back of his hand, he caressed Gimlis' cheek. His elven tears fell silently into the dwarf's red beard. "Why am I so weak?" He asked himself. "And why do you have to be mortal?"
Legolas could no longer take it! He curled around Gimli, nuzzling into his beard. He found an ear and whispered sweetly.
"Amin mela lle! Melamin!" He whispered. "My eternal love, my only love, my only one. My everything, my world, my warrior. Like my mother gave up archery for my father, I would give it up for you!" He shuddered as he said it, but it felt right. He smiled, then grinned and looked at the sleeping dwarf, pondering over everything he loved.
"I would give up, gymnastics! I would give up poetry! I would give up songs, and stars and forests! To be with you my darling, I would give everything I love! Damn my father! Damn him to Mordor! Where he can rot! I would go into the forests of my birth, and kill every venomous spider that crossed my path! And that would be my last killing! Ever, in my long existence! I love you! Please!"
Legolas then realised he had been shouting. He looked around him, and who would be standing there? Éowyn? The most unlikely person, well he would have thought, to hear his outburst.
"My dear lady." He whispered, going over to her. "Please… can this be kept between you and me?"
Éowyn took the young Prince's hand and smiled. "That was quite a speech my lord." She said. "I never though a elf could become so soft with emotion over a dwarf?"
"Neither did me!" Legolas replied.
Éowyn smiled at him. "Also, I assumed it rude to assume you were not unfamiliar to affection between warriors when I met you! As of course you are an elf, and different to us all."
"In what ways are the ways I am different?" Legolas asked, curious.
"Well," Éowyn replied. She tucked strands of blond hair behind a pointed ear. "And you are gentler, quieter. You have not spoken many words to me since we have met. Or now I think about it, any at all! Plus, even in this dead night, you provide your own light!"
Legolas squeezed Éowyn's hand. "How sweet of you Arwen en amin." Legolas kissed the hand and walked away.
Éowyn watched Legolas walk away; she wished him good luck and sighed.
"He finds nothing in the fairer sex! I know I should not say it, but I would not see you hurt."
Éowyn turned around to see Aragorn.
"I am aware." She replied. "I just had a little heart-to-heart with him! He is such a gentle soul; I just hope he is not hurt."
"In what way my lady?" Aragorn asked.
"He has fallen in love." Éowyn said. "And I heard him whisper his speech when he started it. He asked why his desired has to be a mortal, and…"
Realising what she had been saying, she clapped her hand over her mouth.
"Oh I am so terrible with secrets!" She cried. "Oh, my lord, please save me and forget what I have said!"
Aragorn raised a hand in a plead for silence. "I already know." He assured. "I have known for a while. Do not threat your pretty head dear Éowyn. But do not tell anyone else either."
Éowyn smiled at the man, glad that she had not blabbed only a minute or two after hearing the secret. But still her curiosity had not stifled. "Lord Aragorn, what does: 'Amin mela lle' mean? And 'Melamin'? And 'Arwen en amin'?"
" 'Amin mela lle' means 'I love you." Aragorn replied. " 'Melamin' is 'my love.' And… 'Arwen en amin'…. 'My Lady!'" With that Aragorn left the shield maiden.
Aragorn went off to find his elf-friend. When he found Legolas's quiver and bow, the elf was not next to them. But he did hear a familiar singing voice close by.
"My friend." Aragorn whispered.
"Aragorn!" Legolas snapped. "I am in no mood to be lectured to, and in even less of a mood to be comforted. So whatever you come for… leave without it!"
"I want you to sleep." Aragorn replied. "You are weary, I can see it. And your heart is weak."
Legolas shook his head. "Nay, if I sleep I shall dream in bliss again. Only to wake up and see that it was merely a dream."
"What do you dream of my friend?"
"I am with the one I desire. With him." Legolas whispered. "I take him and claim him as mine. But it is only a dream."
"What makes you so sure?"
"Because… he only sees me as a companion. As a friend." Legolas let yet more tears slip from his eyes. "In my dreams he tortures me with words of love I long to hear when I am in the waking world." Legolas looked into Aragorn's eyes. "I am sorry Aragorn." He said finally. "I have owed you an apology for many years. I often make jest and game of what happened between us many years ago. I now see that to you it is no laughing matter, and how much pain it must have caused you."
Aragorn returned his friends gaze. "The pain does not delve too deeply my dear Legolas. I do not let it bother me as much as it should. But let us agree now, never to speak of it again. Let what happened in the past, stay in the past." Legolas nodded, and Aragorn ended all of Legolas and himself being more than dear friends, with one light kiss. On the mouth, but a kindly gesture between friends.
With that, Aragorn let Legolas think in solitude. Legolas bit his nail as he wept, but deeply regretted it afterwards! He thought that there was then nothing to do but follow Aragorn's advice and go to sleep, but there was one more thing he had to do.
He wondered over to where Gimli lay, and kissed his surprisingly soft cheek gently.
"I love you." He whispered into his ear.
The march to Helms Deep continued, Legolas riding Arod with Gimli. He took Gimli's hand without permission, needing someone's comfort. And Gimli was more than happy to give that comfort.
Then Legolas was almost certain, that he felt Gimli shift and kiss the back of his neck gently.
"Gimli." He whispered.
"Yes, my elf."
"I had a dream."
"Another nightmare?"
"No. A good dream… we were together! I know how that must sound. But believe me the dream was magical! And after it… I do not think I can continue unless… unless…"
He felt Gimli's hand slip down to rest on his thigh. "My love, if it was a dream… then we were both dreaming. And it was a good dream!" Gimli kissed the ear he had whispered into. "I do love you!"
"I love you too." Legolas replied.
End of Chapter three
HA-HA! NO MORE L/A IN THIS FIC! YAY!
