Legolas needed a break. He breathed in the night air and watched the dusk turned to dark. Aragorn had been arguing with Theoden for several hours. When they had arrived that morning he had been in the throes of Saruman's control. Gandalf had driven Saruman away but Theoden was not eager to hear the news Gandalf had for him that war was upon him. In Theoden's defense, his son's funeral was in the morning and he had missed his son's death having been under enchantment. It probably wasn't the best time to confront him with the threat headed for him.
Legolas put his hand in his pocket and felt the wedding rings he had been carrying since Rivendell. He had had to rip them out of his bag when Manwathiel hadn't been looking and they had been loose in his pocket since Anduin. He never took them out of his pocket – he was afraid to lose them – but sometimes he liked to feel the weight in his hand and think about all that had happened. He hadn't had a chance to speak to Gandalf yet but if they were going to stay at Edoras for awhile he planned to write Galadriel. He heard footsteps behind him and took his hand out of his pocket. He turned. It was Manwathiel.
"You disappeared." She said walking toward him. Her face looked much better. It was mostly yellow with some patches of purple.
"We weren't getting anywhere." He said and held his arm out for her. She snuggled into him.
"I think we're going to Helm's Deep. Have you heard of it?" she asked, leaning her head into his shoulder.
He kissed her head. "Yes, it's a great fortress. Rohan has used it successfully in the past."
"So we'll be safe there?" she asked looking up at him.
He hesitated. He wasn't sure they were safe anywhere. Not anymore. "It is well fortified." He said. So they were going to Helm's Deep. Things were really bad then. They wouldn't stay and fight. No Galadriel then either. He sighed. Maybe when they returned he could get her home. His heart hurt. He didn't want to drag her around middle earth forever. He turned to her and took her fully into his arms. He kissed her. She sighed contentedly and kissed him back.
"Will you sleep next to me tonight?" she asked, pulling back for a moment. At night they would all be crowded into a large room, sleeping on the floor.
He nodded. He had barely touched her since Lothlorien. He wanted very much to hold her all night. "Every night, if I could." He said kissing her again. She clung to him as he deepened the kiss.
"I wish we could have every night together." She whispered. He stroked her hair.
"Eventually." He murmured. He felt the weight of the rings in his pocket. He leaned in to kiss her again when he heard a loud throat clearing.
"Legolas!" Aragorn said. Reluctantly Legolas dropped his arms from her waist and turned toward the door.
"We've made some progress. Come in we're about to eat." Aragorn said.
Legolas nodded and took Manwathiel by the hand. "Come." He said. She followed him, disappointed. They never seemed to have more than a few moments together.
When they got back into the great hall, Eowyn, the King's niece was serving dinner. Gimli sat nursing a beer and Aragorn puffing on a pipe. Legolas and Manwathiel sat between Gimli and Aragorn.
"I will leave in the morning after the funeral." Gandalf said, sitting down with them.
"Where are you going?" Manwathiel asked, breaking some bread.
"I have some business to take care of. Look for me on the morning of the fifth day." Gandalf said reaching for his own drink.
"Will we leave tomorrow?" she asked Aragorn.
"Day after but it will be slow going. We have to collect the people from the countryside and they will not move quickly." Aragorn said. People had been trickling into Erodas all day. There had been orc attacks all over Rohan while Theoden slept his waking sleep.
Legolas passed her some wine. She took a large gulp. She was thirsty and tired and wanted to be alone with Legolas.
"Do you have any clothes?" Eowyn asked her, sitting down now that everyone was served.
She shook her head. "We had to leave everything behind." She said, remembering her bag with a pang.
"You can borrow something of mine for the funeral tomorrow if you like." Eowyn said. Manwathiel looked at her surprised.
"Thank you. That's very kind." She said. She was desperate to put on something clean.
"I have night clothes too." Eowyn said.
"I would very much appreciate that. I've been wearing this for weeks." Manwathiel said. A nightgown sounded like such a luxury. She turned to Eowyn but she was already distracted looking at Aragorn. Manwathiel knew that look. She'd worn that look around Legolas. Her stomach twisted painfully. Aragorn seemed oblivious. Manwathiel thought of her sister and felt cold.
"Refill?" Gimli asked, holding out his drink. Eowyn passed a pitcher of beer. "Aye that's the good stuff." He said happily, taking a long drink.
Manwathiel felt like drinking herself. She drained her glass. Legolas looked at her with his eyebrows raised but refilled it. She started to feel warm and giggly. Two drinks later and she was feeling the best she'd felt in ages. She was giggling wildly at a story Gimli was telling. Legolas knew he should probably cut her off but he hadn't seen her so happy since they left Rivendell. She seemed completely happy and relaxed, oblivious to the danger that lay in front of them. She didn't understand that Helm's Deep was a last resort. He didn't want to ruin it for her.
When they had finished eating and drinking, Manwathiel followed Eowyn to her room. "Thank you so much for lending me something to wear." Manwathiel said, sitting on the bed. She wouldn't never have dared normally but she was drunk.
"Of course. You've had long travels." Eowyn said. She took out a nightgown. "Do you need a hair brush?"
"Yes!" Manwathiel said. Her braids had been falling out for days. Eowyn handed her a nightgown and a hairbrush and sat down on the bed with her.
"So how well do you know Aragorn?" she asked.
Manwathiel should have listened to her instincts but she was filled with warmth and happiness. "He is like a brother to me." And he was but for a technicality. "I've known him my whole life, at least the parts of my life I can remember. I'm twenty years older than him." She said, undoing her braid. She had missed the company of women.
"Twenty years older?" Eowyn asked, astonished. "Then you are very young or he is very old." She said.
Manwathiel shrugged. "Both. He is long lived and I just came of age."
"How old is he?" Eowyn asked, fascinated. This should have been a warning to Manwathiel.
"87?" she said, not totally sure. It was 87 or 88 she couldn't remember. Eowyn gasped.
"Is he married?" she asked.
This caught Manwathiel off guard. "No." she said as carefully as she could with everything being so fuzzy. "He is not married."
She wasn't sure what to do. Obviously this was none of her business but she felt protective of her sister. What would she want her sister to say if the situation were reversed and someone were asking about Legolas?
"He cares for someone, though, my sister." She added. Her hair was completely loose now. She took the hair brush and started working through section by section.
"Where is she?" Eowyn asked.
"At home." Manwathiel said simply. "May I?" she asked, taking the night gown. Eowyn nodded. Manwathiel quickly changed. "That is much better. Thank you." She said, sitting down happily.
"Of course." Eowyn said.
"I'm sorry about your cousin." Manwathiel said quietly.
"Thank you. He is missed." Eowyn said sadly. "My brother is gone too."
"Not forever. Gandalf thinks Eomer will come back." Manwathiel said.
"Not in time. He is too far away to help us at Helm's Deep." Eowyn looked despondent.
Manwathiel smiled at her. "You never know." She said. "You wouldn't believe all the impossible things I've seen happen lately." She stood up to leave. "Thank you again for the clothing." She said.
Eowyn smiled at her and waved as she headed to bed.
An hour later Manwathiel felt an arm go over her waist. She smiled and snuggled into Legolas. "Go back to sleep." He whispered. He could feel the curves of her body beneath her light nightgown. He wanted to do so much more than hold her. He brushed her hair to the side. She had taken her braids out. She could feel his breath on her neck.
"Are you going to sleep?" she asked.
He nodded and she fell back asleep with a smile on her face.
The funeral was unbelievably sad. Theoden looked broken and Eowyn sobbed as she sang the lament. Manwathiel had a slight headache but mostly she felt bad for everyone else. He had been a young man and had died needlessly. She was sick of all this death. She was reminded of Boromir and felt sick.
Gandalf talked with Theoden for a time before taking off on Shadowfax, warning Aragorn again to look for him on the fifth day.
All of Edoras was in upheaval for the move to Helm's Deep. Manwathiel spent the day helping Eowyn gather supplies and organize clothes and food. She noticed the way Eowyn watched Aragorn whenever he was near and she felt concern and a little bit of anger growing. Aragorn didn't seem to be encouraging her but he was discouraging her either. She noticed he still wore her sister's necklace even has he joked with Eowyn. Manwathiel gritted her teeth and focused on making sure they had the supplies they needed.
Eowyn and Aragorn were talking by a horse when she saw a man with a limp. He was a civilian and the injury looked fresh. She stopped him.
"Are you injured? I am a healer." She said
"Yes, orcs burned my village." The man said, gesturing to his leg. It was bent oddly and swollen.
"May I?" she asked, and put her hands on his leg. She chanted as the light poured out.
"What is she doing?" Theoden asked walking over and breaking her concentration.
"Shh." Aragorn said. "She is healing."
Manwathiel finished up and helped the man to his feet. "How is it now?" He took a couple of steps.
"Good as new." The man said grinning.
She smiled. "Good. I'm glad."
"Elvish magic." Theoden said shaking his head. "You are lucky in your friends, indeed." He said to Aragorn.
"My skills are yours to command." Manwathiel said. "I am happy to help anyone who needs it."
"A healer is always welcome." Theoden said. "Though I hope we will have little use for you at the Hornburg."
"As do I." Aragorn said, clapping her on the back.
"Can she fight?" Theoden asked Aragorn as they walked back to the great hall.
"She can but you don't want her as a fighter. She can kill ten orcs or she can heal ten men who can each kill ten orcs." Aragorn said. He also knew that Legolas didn't want her anywhere near a real battle but he kept that to himself.
"Eowyn!" Theoden called. Eowyn came running. "Be sure the elf has all the medical supplies she needs." He said.
Eowyn nodded.
Manwathiel spent the rest of the day healing hurt civilians and helping Eowyn pack. That night Legolas took her in his arms again.
"Eowyn wants Aragorn." She whispered to him in elvish. Aragorn had not come to bed yet and Gimli was fast asleep.
"Stay out of it." Legolas warned.
"I'm not in it!" she said indignantly. "I just don't think he should be flirting with her."
"You would not like it if Aragorn involved himself in our business." He said.
"Between you and Arwen Aragorn probably is involved in our business." She said, raising her eyebrows.
Legolas side-stepped this because of course she was right. "From my perspective she has been interested in him but he has only been polite back."
"I don't like it." Manwathiel said. "What if he likes her back? She's very pretty."
"Not really my type." Legolas said with a laugh. "I don't think she's Aragorn's type either."
"She's human." Manwathiel said. Legolas looked at her seriously. "If Aragorn cared about that we would know by now."
She nodded. "I just would feel terrible if I were in Arwen's situation." So that was what was troubling her. She had nothing to worry about on that account.
Legolas pulled her close and kissed her. "Our situation is very different from theirs." He said. They were married. He would never entertain the attention of someone else.
Manwathiel didn't see how. They both had undefined relationships. "If you say so." She said, unconvinced.
He kissed her again. "I say so. I love you."
She smiled and kissed him back. It was only the second time he had told her he loved her. "I love you too." She felt immensely happy.
When Aragorn came to bed he found them intertwined with their foreheads touching. He smiled to himself, shook his head and went to bed.
The journey to Helm's Deep was slow. After running all over Rohan with Gimli, Aragorn and Legolas the leisurely pace was a bit jarring. As their train of people moved, new civilians joined them from neighboring villages. Manwathiel was kept busy as there was a steady flow of injured. Legolas waited patiently with her as she stopped periodically to heal burns, sprained ankles and broken bones. As the villagers joined, Legolas was getting alarmed. They had maybe a thousand men with them but the civilians were mostly women and children or very old or very young. He hoped they wouldn't need a fighting force because they were not going to get one.
They stopped at dusk to make camp. They passed Eowyn and Aragorn who were chatting eating stew. Manwathiel glanced at Legolas but he shook his head for her to keep moving. "Stay out of it." He repeated as they walked down the hill.
There was privacy in a crowd. Gimli was nowhere to be found so they picked a spot. Legolas went to get food and Manwathiel lay down. Legolas returned with two bowls of stew. Manwathiel took a bite and grimaced.
"No thank you." She said, setting it down. Legolas spit his out.
"Not much of cook is she?" Legolas asked, glancing back at Eowyn.
"I don't suppose we have anymore lembas bread?" she asked. Legolas dug into his pockets and handed her the last piece. She took a tiny bite and handed the rest to him.
"Healer!" a voice called. "We need a healer!"
Manwathiel jumped up. "Coming." She called back trying to locate the voice. It was a woman with a crying baby walking toward her.
"I think she has a fever." The woman said, panicked. Manwathiel had absolutely no experience healing babies. Elven babies were few and far between and she didn't spend time with humans besides Aragorn.
Manwathiel carefully took the baby from her and felt her head. She was burning up but was red faced from crying. Could the crying have made her warm? "Do you have a blanket?" she asked the mother.
The mother held out the blanket. Legolas took it from her and lay it on the ground. Manwathiel bounced the baby a few times to soothe her and then carefully lay her down on the blanket. She put her hands on the baby's head and felt for a moment. It was a flu. She could cure a flu even in a baby. She focused and slowly the crying stopped until it was only a whimper. Manwathiel carefully picked her up and handed her to her mother. "She should be alright. It was just a flu. She is fine now."
Legolas watched her. She looked good holding a baby. He briefly pictured her holding a blonde baby and smiled.
"Thank you!" the mother said gratefully kissing her baby. Manwathiel smiled at her. "Let me know if there are any other problems."
She sat back down. "I am very popular today." She said.
Legolas thought back to her foretelling. "Your skills will probably be much in demand." He said.
She shrugged. "Theoden said Helm's Deep was impenetrable." She said unperturbed. "Can you take my locket off. I want to see my parents."
He obliged and handed it to her. "You miss your father?" he asked, his heart tugging.
She nodded, staring at his portrait. "I think he would be proud of me, though." She said thoughtfully.
Legolas embraced her. "He is and has always been very proud of you. He has told me many times."
She leaned her head into the nook of his shoulder and neck. "I hope I'll see him soon." She whispered.
Legolas hoped so too.
"Ahh there you are! Hello, laddie!" Gimli said, a pint of ale in his hands. He sat down next to them. Legolas immediately released Manwathiel.
"Hi Gimli." Manwathiel said, smiling at him. "Where have you been? We looked for you."
"Tracking down the ale. They keep the kegs in the back." He said, foam on his beard.
"Lucky you found it." Legolas said, smiling to himself.
"Lucky indeed. We've been without proper refreshment for weeks." Gimli took a deep gulp. Manwathiel giggled.
"You know," she said. "I think I do want to go to Erebor."
Gimli was thrilled. "Ahh Lassie! I will show you the best time. You think the hobbits know how to have fun. You've never seen a hall of dwarves!"
"Can we stop at Mirkwood on the way?" she asked Legolas. It would be easier to break up the trip.
"We can leave for Erebor from Mirkwood." Legolas said, choosing his words carefully. They wouldn't be stopping at Mirkwood. They would be coming from Mirkwood.
They spent the rest of the evening hearing stories of the dwarves at Erebor.
The next day Legolas and Manwathiel rode on horseback as they slowly made their way to Helm's Deep. There had been an extra horse and Legolas wanted to ride back and forth to the front and back to scout.
Aragorn and Eowyn were deep in conversation each time they passed. As they passed a fourth time, Manwathiel saw Aragorn touch her face. Manwathiel stopped the horse.
"Your memory is short Elessar." She said coolly in elvish. "If you have no need for your necklace than give it to me."
"Manwathiel!" Legolas cried. She ignored him and held out her hand.
"My memory is fine." Aragorn answered back, surprised at her tone and taken aback.
"Sorry." Legolas said to Aragorn and urged the horse forward. "What were you thinking?" he demanded annoyed. "I told you to stay out of it."
"He touched her!" she said hotly.
"I don't care. It's none of our business. Aragorn has been nothing but kind to us." Legolas said.
"Well he isn't being kind to Arwen." She replied. He held up his hand to silence her. She heard it too. They raced forward. Wargs. He galloped back.
"Wargs and Orcs!" he cried. Soldiers came to attention and rode ahead. There was chaos with the civilians. Theoden was ordering Eowyn to take them to Helms Deep. Legolas helped Manwathiel off the horse.
"Go with Eowyn and the women and children." He said urgently. "They will have wounded to tend to."
"You want me to just leave you?" she asked, horrified.
He nodded, circling the horse around. "Go. I will meet you there."
"Legolas – I don't want to part in anger. I am sorry." She said, twisting her hands. Aragorn and Eowyn seemed ridiculous now.
He waved at her. "It is already forgotten. We will never part in anger, not after something so silly. Go."
She watched him take off her stomach sinking. She helped Eowyn corral the civilians as they headed for Helms Deep. In the distance she saw Legolas shooting with his bow. Her heart was heavy as she walked.
When they arrived at Helms Deep she and Eowyn started to put the supplies to rights. People milled everywhere. For two hours they worked, putting the food, blankets and clothing away in the caves. They worked mostly in silence, each worried about another who was off fighting. Eventually she heard the hoof beats and rushed to the keep. She saw Legolas immediately but he looked crushed. She ran to him.
"What is it?" she asked, throwing her arms around him. He held her for a moment and then released her. He opened his hand. In his palm was Arwen's necklace. "He fell." He said, looking devastated.
Manwathiel gasped and covered her mouth. Her poor sister. She started to cry. "I asked for the necklace back. That was the last thing I said to him." She said horrified, touching the necklace.
"He knew you cared for him." He said, hugging her tightly. She clung to him. No Aragorn. No Gandalf. What would happen to them?
"I'm so grateful you're alive." She whispered into his chest. He rubbed her back. For once he didn't know what to say to make her feel better so he just held her.