V. Entering the Golden Forest
I'll be there
When the world stops turning
I'll be there
When the storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you
~*~*~
The four started their trek in the morning. They had been going several hours already, and not a word was spoken amongst them.
Legolas pondered over what had happened this morning. Gimli, this time had woke up before Arwen, and was trying to wake her up. It was almost funny, a complete opposite of what had happened yesterday. Arwen had told Gimli to back off... and well... Fortunately, this time, Arwen and Gimli did not start yelling at each other. In fact, they began to laugh as they realized how funny the whole situation was. Aragorn - he looked worried that Arwen and Gimli would start bickering again. Legolas found the entire situation hilarious, and had to suppress his own laughter until the others realized it was so.
Wandering through his thoughts, Legolas could hardly be disturbed. Eh... he thought. Nothing really has disturbed me from my silent pondering, has it not? Not even the change of the color of the leaves... Change of the color of the leaves?
Legolas looked around, as he noticed Arwen doing. So she had noticed as well. The leaves... Instead of being dark and dry, they were now golden... but not golden as if fall were coming... It's like, they're enchanted, he thought. Enchanted to be golden forever... And the flowers! Legolas knelt on the ground and picked a flower. "Golden as well," he said, accidentally aloud.
"So you've noticed," Arwen nodded. "I was beginning to wonder if men really are..."
Aragorn stepped up from behind her and put his arms around her waist. "If men are really what?" he asked.
Arwen smiled. "Wouldn't you like to know," she said teasingly.
Was it just me, or did Aragorn just growl? Legolas just stood there, watching. He wasn't sure he wanted to stay there though... Fortunately, the two realized where they were - in the middle of a forest with orcs running amok - and stopped.
"Err... Sorry about that Legolas," Aragorn said a bit embarrassed. "I, um... got carried away."
"Uh huh..." Legolas was feeling a bit dazed.
"Legolas, are you all right?" Arwen looked at him with deep concern. "It's not like we really did anything... You shouldn't be so."
The elf blinked a few times. "I'll be all right... I think..."
Aragorn leaned over and whispered in his ear, "You should see her when we're alone." That shattered the ice, and Legolas doubled over in laughter. But Arwen stood confused as the two laughed in front of her. "What?" she asked. "What?"
We were strangers
On a crazy adventure
Never dreaming
How our dreams would come true
Now here we stand
Unafraid of the future
At the beginning with you
~*~*~
Aragorn shook his head. "You never know," was his only reply.
"Well, let's find out!" Gimli said.
"Find out what?"
"Find out if it's evil, elf," Gimli said as if it were the most obvious thing in the word - he was clearly irritated.
"Don't call me elf, dwarf."
"Don't call me dwarf, elf."
"Dwarf."
"Elf."
"Dwarf!"
"Elf!" "
Dwarf!"
"Sto-op," said an annoyed Aragorn.
"He started it," Legolas muttered.
"Stop being so immature, Legolas," Arwen scolded him as she would one of her children.
"I'm not." Legolas was clearly starting to sulk.
"Oh stop. For a prince and an adult, you can have some nasty manners," Arwen continued. "Didn't your mother ever teach you any man- Oh..." Suddenly she stopped, realizing what she had just said. "Legolas, I'm sorry... that's not what I meant..."
Legolas rolled his eyes. "I don't care for her."
"Legolas, after all, she still is your mother," Aragorn said.
"She never took on her duties as such. Why should she have the honor of being called 'Mother'? I don't think it's right. And furthermore, Father says she deserves my respect and love. Respect and love! I've never even met the woman, and he demands me to do that? Honestly, my father comes off as such a fool sometimes... I don't know..." Legolas seemed to be on the brink of tears.
"Legolas?" Arwen asked softly.
"Leave me alone."
"No, Aragorn, Gimli," Arwen said as the two tried to go forward to where Legolas stood. "Listen to him. Leave him alone."
When the three departed, Legolas sat down. He had never cried since he was a tiny infant, and he had no intention of starting that business now. To Legolas, tears were but a sign of failure... failure to endure pain. So how could he cry over a woman he had never known? He dared not. And my father... he thought darkly. As much as Legolas cared and respected his father, sometimes, Thranduil angered him so deeply... It was as if they were not father and son. Hard to believe the same loving blood that flows through him flows through me, Legolas thought. He sighed deeply. Perhaps his father was right... Legolas had never known love. Friendship, respect, care, yes - love, no.
There was a sound behind him. Legolas turned around quickly. "Aragorn? Arwen? Gimli?" Legolas looked closer. No, it was none of them. He looked harder. It was clearly a woman. She motioned for him to follow her. Step by step, Legolas walked toward her and heeded her gestures...
Life is a road
And I want to keep going
Love is a river
I wanna keep flowing
Live is a road
Now and forever
Wonderful journey
~*~*~
"I think we should go back to Legolas now," Arwen said softly. The three of them had sat down in a clearing, resting, while they waited for Legolas to compose himself. At least an hour had passed since they left him.
"Yes," Aragorn agreed. "Much time has passed... I do suppose it should have been enough."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Gimli cried out. "I'll go get him." With that, Gimli disappeared into the forest in search of Legolas. "I'll be back soon!" he called back behind him.
Aragorn moved closer to Arwen and put his arms around her. "Poor boy."
"I know." Arwen closed her eyes and sighed. "Ever since he was a child... So brave, so talented with the bow... and yet something seemed to be absent from him. All the maidens in Mirkwood fell in love with him... and how could they not? Legolas seems so perfect - bold, daring, loyal, handsome, caring, fair, royalty... but one thing was missing. He couldn't love. No maiden could hold the heart of Prince Legolas, not even turn his head... and each in succession fell into heartbreak."
"But why is it?" Aragorn asked. "Everyone loves. Even those evil - they love their power and killing. But Legolas - I only hear him say that word in contempt. He does not love anything."
"My father often said it is because Legolas grew up basically without his parents. You know how it was," Arwen said, turning to look at Aragorn. "You grew up without your parents, taken by my father. Except my parents cared for you as their own son. Loved you, cherished you, cared for you. Legolas grew up without that... Thranduil traveled often, leaving his only son behind. And Legolas grew up without ever knowing his own mother. To him, she is nothing. Perhaps that is most important - the one figure in life that could have shown Legolas love most was gone."
"But where is she?" Aragorn asked. "Did she just disappear?"
"No one knows..." Arwen said. "At least, it seems as if no one knows... My father suspects Thranduil knows, but every time he is asked of it, Thranduil just puts his head down for a moment and quickly changes the subject. I don't even know her name," Arwen sighed. "Thranduil must have truly loved her."
"Just as I love you..." Aragorn whispered. "I could never imagine losing you."
The moment was so quiet, so serene. Of course, Gimli knew nothing of this when he came impeding on the scene.
"Legolas!" he cried out. "He's gone!"
A/N: Like? I tried to make it as
errr "adventurous" as I could... I suppose I'm not doing a
good enough job. Ah, there's still time. And who is that mysterious
figure that took away Legolas like that eh? (I'm afraid it's not as
mysterious as I tried to make it.)
**Song is continuation of the one in chapter 1 or so. Forget... and too lazy too look...**
Ahh. I just realized something. The title of my story is "Eternal Life, Eternal Pain." and my name is EternalStar. I'm very eternal aren't I =P BTW: It may seem Legolas is heartless. but it isn't so. He's merely misunderstood X P