So welcome back! This is Sammael Silverpen with a new long chapter of Striding Leaves. Not much else for me to say at the moment except: Read it, enjoy it, and maybe review it!
Chapter 5: Moonlight, Elves and Dwarves
Gimli awoke with a start. It was night and the full moon cast a silvery glow over the rocks that surrounded them. The Fellowship was camped in a natural quarry, with high rock walls to shelter them from the wind. They were permitted no fire, as Aragorn did not want to risk the Enemy seeing the light or smoke. Merry and Pippin had grumbled quietly and Boromir had noted dryly that if the Enemy came knocking, they could simply stand at the top and shoot them regardless of the fire. However Aragorn and Gandalf took no notice of him and declared they would remain here for the night and proceed onwards to Moria the next day.
Moria.
The very name of the ancient Dwarven city sent a shiver of excitement down Gimli's back. Though Moria was not its' true name but its' Elvish one. The Dwarves called it Khazad-dûm.
In any respect, no matter what they called it, Moria was still a Dwarvish realm. Gimli's cousin, Balin, had left the Lonely Mountain some years prior to reclaim it from the Goblins. Though he had not been heard from in quite a while, Gimli was certain of his success.
Gimli sat up and cast a bleary eye over his still sleeping companions. Across camp was a tangled mess of Hobbit and blanket. From where he was sitting he could just make out Frodo's dark curls among the mass of reddish-brown that belonged to Merry, Pippin and Sam. Pippin - or was it Merry? - rolled over in his sleep, semi-crushing another Hobbit. Aragorn was nearby, covered by only his cloak, with his sword ready in his hand in case of an attack. Gimli nodded approvingly - Aragorn seemingly never slept. Boromir was on guard duty, leaning against a boulder near the entrance. He was staring out into the dark, his hand lightly resting on the hilt of his sword. Gimli strained his eyes, looking for Gandalf. There he was, near the back. His stone-grey cloak effectively hiding him from view at a glance. Gimli paused and counted his companions. Where was the Elf?
Gimli scowled and got to his feet. He knew he had to go and drag the Elf back to camp before he got himself killed by the Enemy - or worse, get the rest of them killed.
"Ho, Gimli!" Boromir whispered as the Dwarf made his way to the entrance. "Where are you off to, my friend?"
"To drag the Elf back by his pointy ears if I must," Gimli answered, just as quietly. "'Tis unsafe to wander alone."
Boromir nodded. "Indeed. Stay safe yourself, Master Dwarf." Gimli grunted and marched past him, into the tufts of thick grasses that sprang up around the rocks.
"Now where is that blasted Elf?" Gimli muttered to himself, looking about and scrambling onto a large boulder. Thankfully since the moon was full, he could see the surrounding terrain quite well. Even so, it took him a few minutes before he noticed the Elf lounging casually on a rock not too far off. Gimli grumbled irritably as he stomped over. Legolas was singing quietly to himself, seemingly obvious to everything around him. Yet as Gimli neared, he stopped singing and smiled blithely.
"Greetings, Master Dwarf," he half-sang. "What stirs you from your rest?"
Gimli scowled. "I've come to drag you back to camp, Elf."
Legolas's smile faded. "Why?" He frowned. "Is something wrong?"
"It's too dangerous to be out here by yourself."
"Dangerous for you and the rest of the Fellowship. Not so much for me." Legolas sighed and gave a sad smile.
"Of course!" Gimli threw up his hands in irritation. "You're completely correct, Master Elf, it is not dangerous, at all, for someone who is blind to be walking around at night, alone! Great immortal Elves think they're better than everyone else and can't die!" Legolas stiffened angrily and scowled.
"You don't know anything about me, Master Dwarf," he hissed. "Not one thing."
"Then do enlighten me, Elf, with your far superior intellect," Gimli challenged.
"Very well!" Legolas jumped to his feet and pulled out one of his knives in a smooth motion. Gimli took a step back in case the Elf decided to take a chance at injuring him. Legolas held the knife over his own left shoulder. The hand holding the knife shook violently and made jerking motions as if to pull the knife away. Gimli could not restrain himself: he leapt forward and knocked the knife from Legolas's hand. Legolas simply smiled.
"You see, Gimli?" he said a small voice. Gimli stared at him in shock: the Elf had never called him by name before. "I can not take my own life and you nor any other living being can bear to let me do so. It is part of the curse of being me."
"How?" Gimli could not help but ask.
"I am bound to this world through the Dark Lord, just as he is bound to the Ring. You will have, no doubt, by now heard the whisper of the Ring?" Legolas asked. Gimli nodded. A moment passed before Legolas sighed.
"An verbal answer if you will, Master Dwarf."
Gimli shook himself. "Yes, yes, I have heard the Ring. What of it?"
"That impulse, that whisper to take the Ring, is the same one that forced you to try and save my life," Legolas explained. "And while I host part of Sauron's spirit, I cannot go against his decree." The air about them seemed to chill suddenly as Legolas chanted: "Survive, I command thee. Thou will survive as long as I survive. Thou will obey me and be mine unto eternity." The warmth returned to the air, almost with a rush. "These were the words he spoke to me, the day he stole my sight from me and made me his Servant. I was to be his puppet, his tool. But he was not strong enough then, I escaped; wandered across Mordor alone and blind."
Gimli shuddered, his mind processing what the Elf had disclosed to him.
"Why? Why this Elf? Why has Sauron not reclaimed him?" Gimli thought.
"Speak your mind, Gimli," Legolas said, brushing a strand of hair from his face. "I can almost feel the questions buzzing around."
Gimli glared at him, despite knowing such an act was futile. "I thought there was only one way in and out of Mordor. How did you get out?"
This time it was Legolas's turn to shudder. "There is a second way…a darker way. But I will not speak of it. Not now."
Thwarted, Gimli asked a different question, "Why an Elf? And exactly how long ago was this?"
Legolas smiled mirthlessly. "Why an Elf? Would you suspect an Elf of being Sauron in disguise?" he asked pointedly. "And as for how long ago, it was about two, maybe two and a half, hundred years ago." He shrugged. "Something like that. I forget the exact dates."
Gimli fought to keep his incredulity from showing. "How old are you, Elf?" he whispered.
"Seven or eight hundred years." Legolas mused. "Like I said, I forget the exact dates. I know I have not yet reached a thousand. I am one of the youngest, if not the youngest Elf alive."
"Well that's…uh…good," Gimli stammered, trying to think of something to say.
"Getting back to your original intent, Gimli, I have shown you that I am quite safe out here by myself." Legolas smiled.
"They may not kill you, but they may harm you, poison you…" Gimli growled.
"Why, Master Dwarf, I'm beginning to think you care about my well-being!" Legolas laughed abruptly. "Your concern is misplaced. Again I would be forced to find someway to care for myself or find someone to care for me. That's how I met Aragorn actually."
Gimli raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You knew Aragorn before this little adventure, then?"
Legolas shrugged. "I had gotten separated from my guard on the way to Rivendell. It is difficult for me to travel alone and I tripped and fell, injuring my leg. I believed I was finally going to die. But Aragorn, a young Man at the time -I think he was twenty- found me and nursed me back to health. He is a healer, you know, Lord Elrond trained him well. He thought he had stumbled on me by accident, but I knew he'd secretly been compelled to find me by Sauron. I was furious with him, and he was terribly confused. He insisted on following me all the way to Rivendell, pestering me with questions. In the end, we were friends. Though I'm still not sure how."
Gimli stared at him. "So you haven't been friends all that long then?"
"That depends." Legolas shrugged. "Isn't sixty to seventy years a long time for mortals?"
"Aragorn is eighty?" Gimli asked, dumbfounded. "I knew he was older than he looked, but eighty?"
"He is of the Dunedain. That is normal for them."
Legolas sat back down on the rock, and Gimli sat down next to him.
"So tell me, Gimli, of your home under the mountain. I would like to learn more." Legolas smiled fondly. Despite himself, Gimli found himself telling Legolas about his home. And so Elf and Dwarf talked until Gimli eventually fell asleep, and Legolas sat watch over him, singing quietly, until Aragorn found them the next morning.
That's all for this chapter, I'm afraid! Just a sorta filler chapter really but it kind of sets the scene for Legolas and Gimli's friendship later on.
Just one or two things. I know someone's going to ask about Legolas's age in this, so I'll set you straight now. I set him to be between seven and eight hundred years old. I read an article about Legolas and well it made sense and I recommend reading it. Since FFN doesn't let you provide links for some silly reason it's "squidoo. com" (only with one space!) then "/legolas-mirkwood"
There. Read the article if you're curious, it called "Legolas of Mirkwood: Prince among Equals"
I think that's everything. Until next time then!