Dedication: This is for my guest reviewer, Eliza. Thank you for so much for your kind review! :) I hope you stay for the long run!


CHAPTER FIFTEEN


"They met another attack at Loeg Ningloron, and had to slow down their course. They travelled only by day, because Meginor knew they did not have enough forces to battle a reckless and impulsive army of orcs that would surely gain strength in the night," Elrond said, his back still turned to them. The sunlight gleamed through the window he faced, all the more emphasizing the colour of his dark hair.

Tauriel tapped her fingers impatiently on the table beside her. She was situated a few paces behind him, at the center of the room. He knew she wanted to speak, but only the tapping continued.

"Now all our questions of their delay have been answered," Legolas commented, his arms behind his back.

He felt Tauriel walk forward. She stopped when she was almost level with him, and he could see her face in his field of vision. She looked distressed.

"Did anyone...?" she asked.

"A few were wounded, nothing more," Elrond said, turning his head slightly so they could see half of his face. His long eyebrows were arched towards the middle. "The messenger has asked you leave as soon as you can. Many of your kin have been starving for vengeance, especially for Adassir."

"Of course," Legolas said, struggling to swallow with the sudden dryness in his throat.

"When?" Tauriel asked suddenly. He felt her gaze boring down on him, and he knew the question was directed at him, but he could not bring himself to look back.

It was Elrond who answered her. "Tomorrow at sunrise," he finally faced them, and he stared at Legolas. "If you leave then, you will arrive just in time to meet the others from Lorien."

"So soon?" Tauriel called out, and again, he knew the question was for him.

"Swiftness is imperative," Elrond said, still watching Legolas. "I have already called for a feast tonight. With the events that have happened, it will be a celebration fit for our kin from the woods, and for the warriors who defended many of my people."

He dismissed the tribute. "We're grateful for your hospitality," Legolas answered him, bowing slightly.

Still, he could feel Tauriel's gaze on him. And finally, he turned to look at her. She opened her mouth in an attempt to say something, but no words came out. She simply stared at him, her eyes widening in confusion.

For the first time that afternoon, Elrond finally addressed his concerns for her.

"There has also been word for you from Lothlorien, Tauriel," he said.

At this, both he and Tauriel turned in surprise. "For me?" she asked, her voice hushed.

"Indeed," Elrond smiled at her, then he turned to Legolas. "If you would excuse us."

He frowned, but corrected himself and smiled at the older elf. "Of course. Again, thank you, Lord Elrond," he said.

Elrond nodded back, and gestured to Tauriel to move forward.

On the way out, Legolas caught Tauriel's eyes. "We shall speak later," he told her.

Legolas lingered outside the room, when the door closed behind him. Word from Lorien? What could have merited her presence and their privacy? A part of him wanted to turn back, but he knew that doing so would mean utmost disrespect. In the end, he walked away trusting that Tauriel would disclose with him later on.

He made for the visitors' quarters at the lower part of the house. When he had announced the departure, many of his friends reacted in apparent cheerfulness. He tried to celebrate with them, but the smile on his face felt tiresome and forced. Although he felt relieved that nothing had happened to his kin in Lorien and that he would be able to return home again, there was a weight in his chest that he still could not decipher.

Turning away from the hallway of the rooms, he climbed the steps to the second level of the house. He headed towards the corridor holding many of the chambers for the wounded. It had been a while since he had visited, and in fact, only now again did he go alone. He drifted through the empty floor and entered the room at the further left.

When he walked in, Aegnir was lingering by the desk, gazing at the few items that stood atop of it. Only when Legolas closed the door behind him did Aegnir look up, smiling tiredly. "It was a good visit, but I am glad to be returning home," he said, walking towards his bed.

"You know?" Legolas asked, standing by the door.

"Word travels faster than you'd like to think," Aegnir smiled, seating himself on his bed.

Legolas watched his friend. He had been healed for almost a week now, but there was still a slowness in his movements and dark shadows underneath his eyes. "Will you be able to make the journey?" he asked.

"You need not worry about me," he shook his head. "I can survive more than a few weeks of travel. And I have done nothing but rest these past days. It would be a delight to stretch my limbs."

"You know that we still have to look for Adassir and the others. If you want, I will send you ahead with four other elv—,"

"I will join the search, Legolas," Aegnir cut in, this time, looking at Legolas with a frown on his face. "I am well now, there is no need for you to worry for me. I left the kingdom with the intentions of finding our kin, and I plan to return with peace in my heart knowing that I did what I set out to do."

Legolas sighed. He had expected this, but he had to try. Although Elrond had given his consent, he had also warned Legolas that Aegnir's strength was not as it used to be. That, he said, would take much more time to heal than his wounds. "Are you sure?" he asked, brows crinkling.

"Yes."

"Very well. Prepare yourself. The travel ahead will be wearisome," he said, leaning his back on the door behind him. He placed his fingers to his temple and closed his eyes, contemplating. He needed to make sure everything was ready for tomorrow. He needed to make sure his friend would not be hurt. He needed to find the missing elves. He needed to say goodbye to those he would leave behind. To her. Legolas frowned. His head was throbbing.

"You seem like you need the rest, and not I," Aegnir commented.

Legolas opened his eyes and smiled at his friend ruefully. "Sometimes I hope to simply run from the things I have to face."

Aegnir frowned and for a while, simply watched him. "You have to give yourself rest, mellon. Sometimes, you put too much pressure on yourself," then he smiled as he dropped his gaze to the floor. "Tauriel has told me the same. She has expressed her worry so many times. She claims that you are bound by the weight of your position, and sometimes she thinks that you even sacrifice some of your desires just for the people you serve," the smile still remained on his face, but Legolas did not miss the fraction of a frown.

He remembered the conversation they had once, when they had just arrived. He remembered how he had seen the look of hope in his friend's face—and how he had realized that he had admired Tauriel more than was necessary. Aegnir had dismissed it then, but had promised they would talk about it. They never had. But if Legolas had any doubts before, they were all gone now. The way Aegnir mentioned her name, the way he smiled... it was difficult to doubt.

"Many times, whenever she would visit," Aegnir continued. "She frets over you."

"We have been good friends," Legolas commented, feeling the need to defend Tauriel but at the same time, battling the drumming in his chest. She had been worried?

Aegnir gave a laugh, an empty laugh that echoed in the otherwise quiet room. "Of course you have," when he continued, all traces of mirth disappeared. Instead, he was looking at Legolas patiently, as if he had known something that Legolas himself missed. "But is she really only that to you?"

The throbbing in Legolas' head worsened. And as he rubbed his temples, he knew it was because of Tauriel. Again, at the main thought of her name, he felt a quickened drumming in his chest and an unusual churning in his stomach. He held a hand to his torso, absentmindedly feeling the thumping beneath his flesh. It was an unfamiliar feeling that made him both nervous and excited at the same time. And this was not the first time he felt it. He wasn't sure whether it was right for him to feel like this, after all, he was unsure if the same was happening to her. With Tauriel, he wasn't sure of a lot of things.

Now, Aegnir had asked him the very same question he had avoided asking himself. He had not thought anyone else would notice it—he was not used to sharing his emotions, and the fact that someone else knew now gave him great discomfort.

"Most of your time is spent only with her. I have seen the way you speak with each other, those times that you have visited me here," Aegnir looked steadily at him. "I have seen the way you watch her, when you think that no one will notice."

Legolas was unsure of how to answer, so he stayed rooted by the door, silent.

Aegnir smiled again, but it was one with traces of sadness. "I did not know this day would come. I have known you, all our years in Mirkwood. You have taught me most of what I know, in combat and in life. I knew you were the prince I could serve, and a friend I could count on. But I also knew how you closed yourself from many. How, though many have tried, no one could really get under the wall you have enclosed yourself in. Not until she came."

"You have feelings for her," Legolas voiced out, repeating the very same words he had told his friend only a few days ago. But it seemed so many things had happened between then. Now, he said the words not as a question or confirmation, but rather, as if they would serve as a defence to the predicament he was in.

Aegnir did not answer. Instead, he rose from his bed and walked to the windows, closing his eyes as the light bathed him in a halo of gold. "My dear prince," he met his gaze, and smiled sadly. "So do you."

END OF CHAPTER


IMPORTANT NOTE! Yes. I am aware. It was really short. This was supposed to be only half of a chapter, but I postponed the second half. Why? I need you guys to please vote on the poll that's up in my profile. It might seem pretty simple to you, but I really need my readers' opinions on this. When I get at least 15 votes (which I think is pretty much the minimum number of people who read my chapters) I'll update (So if I get 15 votes in a day, I'll update in a day! Yes. I'm kinda bribing you. Evil laugh).

Oh, oh! Did you guys see the recent trailer?! Well duh, of course you have. But it was just SO AMAZING! I CANNOT WAIT FOR WHEN IT SHOWS (at the same time I just want to cry my eyes out cos it's actually ending)! However, bringing it back to Leggy and Tauriel, a lot of the scenes kinda reaffirmed my theory of Tauriel dying and Legolas being left all alone :(( But we'll see what happens! Ha. :) Sorry for the too-many-exclamation points. I. Am. Just. So. Excited.

As always, a thousand thanks to the people who've reviewed my last chapter!

Love,

Vee