Authors note: The Gothmog Haters Sect can be found in Trichomania...and also the oneshot Because He Killed Fingon.
Aragorn had been surprised to run into an extremely irate dwarf in the corridor, surprised and yet resigned to the fact the chaos surrounding Legolas seemed to be expanding. He followed Gimli back to his room to get to the bottom of the problem, if he ever could.
"What has he done now?" He felt he didn't have to explain who 'he' was.
"Only told Lord Elrond I tried to poison him! Lord Elrond AND Glorfindel it seems. I cannot believe him...elves!"
"Ah Elrond told me about that."
"He told you!"
"Don't worry Gimli, Elrond doesn't believe it. He thinks Legolas suffers from some kind of Battle fatigue."
"Battle fatigue?" Gimli was disbelieving, "hardly Aragorn, all that lad suffers from is a big mouth and a slow brain!"
Aragorn could not help but laugh at that.
It took some time to restore Gimli's equilibrium but he had to take the time. The last thing he wanted was Legolas and Gimli beginning an all out war. He thought all his hard work was in vain however when Legolas showed up.
Legolas did not simply arrive, he arrived bloodied, with a swelling lip looking as if he had been in a fist fight.
"Legolas, what has happened?" Aragorn couldn't believe his eyes. But Legolas gave him one of his best most princely condescending looks.
"I walked into a door."
"Legolas you are an elf, a creature of grace and elegance. No elf has ever walked into a door."
"There is a first time for everything." Legolas said haughtily.
"And you are a terrible liar."
"You look a fright lad." At least Gimli was talking to him civilly Aragorn thought, which was a minor miracle. "Did something happen at the market?"
Legolas slumped into a chair,
"Very well, If you must know, I had words with Elladan."
"Elladan!" Just thinking about the mess between Legolas and his brothers gave Aragorn a headache.
"Don't you think you should be staying well away from him after-" Almost too late he remembered Gimli didn't know what had happened in the wine cellar and choked back his words.
"What did you do?" That was a safer question.
"Why do you immediately assume I did ANYTHING?" Legolas was very good at being indignant.
"Because Elladan is not known for spontaneously hitting people and well you know it."
Legolas scowled at him.
"I pulled his hair." He said with much reluctance.
"You what?! How old are you?"
"You know how old I am Aragorn."
"So remind me at what age elves reach their maturity for I don't think you have managed to get there yet. You pulled his hair? Seriously Legolas?"
"Legolas has a thing about pulling hair Aragorn." Gimli piped up behind him "Remember when he pulled my beard."
"I did that to SAVE you!"
Aragorn sighed loudly.
"Let me clean you up Legolas. You can't go out like that, there is blood everywhere."
Getting Legolas to sit still while he tended to his lip was an onerous task. He was determined not to cooperate.
" It's fine as it is Aragorn," he complained, "It will be healed in the morning...,well maybe tomorrow evening and my natural beauty restored."
Aragorn rolled his eyes,
"You take your immortality far too much for granted Legolas."
The instant the words were out of his mouth he regretted them and he saw the flash of pain across his friends face. Legolas was suddenly serious.
"I do not Aragorn. It is a heavy weight around my neck."
He paused in the midst of the repair work.
"I know Legolas, forgive me. That was thoughtless of me."
Legolas looked away, avoiding eye contact,
"Time is moving too quickly for me." he said. "Do you not wish you could turn it back? That we could be out on the plains of Rohan again, the three of us."
Gimli erupted into a roar of laughter breaking the somber mood though Aragorn knew that he too was aware the two of them would one day be leaving Legolas behind. Going where he could not follow.
"I do not wish for that," he chuckled, "It was very sore on the feet and involved far too much running."
Legolas gave him a smile but it was an empty one.
Aragorn reached out to comfort his friend,
"We have more years ahead of us than behind us Legolas, do not grieve for us just yet."
"We should go for a ride." Gimli announced. "the three of us."
Legolas looked at him with real interest ,
"Now?"
Aragorn threw Gimli a stern look, why was he making suggestions like that? But Gimli would not be cowed.
"Why not now Aragorn?" He asked, "For a couple of hours. It will do the lad good."
"I am King...I cannot just..."
"You are King and you can do what you want surely?" There was nothing worse than an argumentative dwarf.
He looked at Legolas who was all of a sudden bright and enthusiastic. He knew he had been struggling, knew the shortness of his life, of Gimli's life were pressing down upon his Elven friend. If this would help him perhaps he should just go?
Both Gimli and Legolas were looking at him expectantly, hopefully, and he smiled.
"You are right Gimli, Why not."
...
Elrohir heard Legolas before he saw him, there was no mistaking that cheerful whistle and he realised he had not heard Legolas whistling in a long while. How had he not noticed that?
When Legolas entered the room he was smiling, a real smile, his bright brilliant smile, the one that transformed his face, even with the mess Elladan had made of it.
Why had he not registered Legolas had not been smiling like that lately? How unobservant was he?
"You look happy." He said, "Where have you been?"
"I AM happy! I have been riding with Aragorn and Gimli."
"Aragorn went riding?" He was surprised, his brother had been so burdened with his new responsibilities he had taken little time for himself.
"Yes, we dragged him away." Legolas was bubbling with exuberance. "We had a great time Elrohir, I have decided life is too short to worry about things before they happen!"
That was confusing Elrohir thought,
"But your life is not short."
"Well other people's lives are too short then," Legolas didn't miss a beat. Elrohir could not remember when he had last been this lighthearted, He appraised him intently wondering what it was he had missed. Had it been the sea longing dragging him down or something else?
"What are you looking at?" Legolas tilted his head enquiringly.
"You have been unhappy."
"Well, yes." Legolas sat beside him. "I did tell you."
Elrohir internally berated himself. Why had he not heard that?
"It doesn't matter Elrohir," Legolas patted his hand gently, "I have worked it out. I am more myself now."
It did matter though Elrohir thought.
"What was wrong?" It was too late really but he felt he should still try to find out.
"Time."
That was all Legolas would give him and it wasn't very helpful. It was then he remembered what he had intended to do earlier.
"I have something for you, a present. I went to get it earlier but you rushed off." He fished around in his pocket.
"A present?" Legolas' eyes lit up.
"Yes," Elrohir carefully placed the bracelet into his hands. "It is different from the ones Aragorn and Gimli have, much older. I have had it hidden away since my father...well for a long time but I am happy for you to have it. Give it to your Father."
Legolas' eyes shone as he turned the bracelet over in his hands,
"It is beautiful Elrohir, better even than the others. The colour is different! More golden. How can you part with this?"
"It is alright," he insisted, "You have it."
"My father will love this!" Legolas peered at it closely, "What is this? The letters are different...GHS?"
"Gothmog Haters Sect" Elrohir replied quickly remembering the tale Erestor had once told Glorfindel.
"I told you it was older, from the First Age, a secret society. Erestor has one."
"Oh," Legolas looked at him with concern, "I don't think my Father has any antipathy for Gothmog to be honest. He is more of an anti Dragon man rather than Balrogs."
"But you had that run in with the Balrog in Moria, he will hate them when he hears of that."
Legolas was horrified,
"I dropped my bow Elrohir! I am not going to tell him any of that. It was mortifying. It's alright for you with your First Age relations all rushing off into mortal combat with the first Balrog they could find. I squawked like a baby and ran."
"Only because Mithrandar told you to." Elrohir argued. "Anyway Aragorn did not exactly fill himself with glory then either."
"Aragorn is only a Man. A special one but still a Man. I wish I could forget all about that Balrog. How am I ever going to hold my head up when I get to Valinor? I am never, ever going to come to one of your family reunions. At least Elladan can bring Glorfindel who actually killed a Balrog, I am sorry you only have me."
Elrohir gave him a stern look. Did Legolas have no idea of his value?
"You will come," he said, "and I will be proud to be with you. They will look at us and say,'How is one of the Sons of Elrond so lucky as to be with the Son of Thranduil?' You have fought the dark in the Greenwood and never wavered. You are one of the nine walkers, you shot a nazgul from the sky at night, you were the only one of us who did not fear the paths of the dead. You are beloved of Elessar Telcontor and followed him though you believed it would mean your death. You are the equal of any of my forebears Legolas."
Legolas did not look reassured
"Elrohir, your Grandfather is a star! Your Grandmother is Galadriel, One Great Grandfather ruled Gondolin and the other is King of the Noldor in Valinor as far as we know, in fact you have so many High Kings amongst your relatives I lose count! And that's without mentioning the Maia hidden in your family tree...and the Grandmother who turned into a bird! I am the equal of none of them. I am just a half breed Sindar prince whose family has never seen the light of the trees."
"What history books have you been reading Legolas? My Grandparents abandoned their children to the enemy. Lucky for my father then, that enemy treated him with more love and care than did his own parents. My Great Grandfather hid in Gondolin and did not ride out even to the aid of his own father. You are better than all of them. You are Thranduil's son. Thranduil who has singlehandedly held back the darkness from Dol Guldor with no help from us. My father chose you above all elves to represent us in the Fellowship because you could resist the One Ring. He did not chose Glorfindel, he chose you!"
"My Grandfather..." Legolas struggled with the words, "My grandfather is ridiculed by the Noldor for foolishly leading his people to their deaths."
Elrohir clasped Legolas's hands between his own,
"And my own father did not force Isildur to destroy the One Ring when he had the chance. Galadriel could not keep Annatar away from Celebrimbor, Fingolfin himself rode out on a suicide mission leaving his son to pick up the pieces. None of them are perfect. This is not like you. Where is your confidence?"
"Your family intimidate me. They always have."
Elrohir had not known that. Legolas was so sure of himself he would never have been able to tell. Perhaps his family WERE a little intimidating? Legolas was stubbornly digging in his heels now so Elrohir changed the subject. He would have to work more on this later, instead to save the conversation deteriorating into an argument he turned the discussion back to the bracelet.
"Anyway Thranduil would love to have a Feanorians' relic wouldn't he?"
"He hates the Feanorians!"
"All the more reason then for him to feel good about having one of their treasures." Elrohir reasoned. He was getting so carried away he had almost forgotten the bracelet was very much Third Age and nothing to do with Feanorians or Balrogs at all.
"Anyway how did you get this if it is a relic?" Legolas was harder to convince than he thought.
"Family heirloom" he said breezily, "Father's...from Maglor himself probably."
Legolas' mouth dropped open.
"You can't give this away then. Your Father will kill you!"
"Oh he has another...Elros's I think. Don't worry."
Legolas gazed at the bracelet,
"It is beautiful and he WILL love it. I think I will tell him the letters stand for Golden Haired Sindar. He will think it is just for him! Thank you Elrohir."
He reached out and lovingly brushed his hand down Elrohir's cheek.
"I do not deserve you."
Elrohir wondered how his beautiful, exotic, intriguing silvan lover could come to that conclusion. He could never understand why Legolas was with him at all.
He smiled to himself, well if Legolas was happy then so was he.
He knew Thranduil would adore the bracelet, how could he not? The thought of him prancing around unknowingly wearing Glorfindel's hair was quite amusing.
As long as Elrond never saw him with it all would be fine and Thranduil never went to Imladris, the pair of them would never meet.
What could go wrong?
What could possibly go wrong?
The End