I found a song in the LOTR soundtrack that really seems to fit with the version of Legolas that I created. It even has some elvish in it. It kind of sounds like something that Galadriel would sing to Legolas if he ever got discouraged. In short it helped to inspire this chapter, which is part of the reason that it is called "May it Be". If you don't know this song, then look up "Lord of the Rings May it Be" on youtube and you'll find it and the lyrics. It's a great song, and very pretty.
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this new update!
Shout outs to the followers: 43 OMG! I knew you guys liked this but I never expected that many followers! :O Thanks so much!
Shout outs to the Favorites: 29! Thanks to you guys too! I'm glad to see that you like my story!
Thanks to you guys this story is possible!
Anyway, let's get on to what you're waiting for! The actual chapter xD
Legolas woke up, realizing by the heat on his face that it had to at least be around noon. The growling of his stomach told him this as well. He could last long days without food or rest, however he liked to take food when he could. He still felt a little sick from the Planatir but he knew he would recover. It had hardly been much of a dose of the darkness. Legolas still of course felt worried that he might fall before they reached Mordor, or if he ever reached the black gate. The Wraiths seemed to want to capture him something fierce. However he decided he wasn't going to worry about that, and stood to stretch a little.
It felt good, and he found that he wasn't in his room anymore. He hadn't been moved since last night, but when the elf paused to listen he found he was alone. There was no sounds within. Pippin had obviously risen before him and Gandalf had felt confident enough to leave him on his own. He knew that the wizard would have been extremely worried about what Pippin might have told Sauron, and he might have moved to take action against him. That would explain why the room was so empty now accept for him and the lone guard that sneezed suddenly and alerted Legolas to his presence.
The elf smiled a little, feeling a little amused. Theoden had obviously heard from the Fellowship that the elf was once again injured by the darkness. He knew the king would be somewhat reluctant to allow him out of his halls now. He must seem very weak and affected by the darkness now. He knew though that Aragorn would be trying his hardest to allay some of those fears though. Aragorn would need the help of his wiser friend to help him on his way now more than ever. Legolas knew that Aragorn was deeply troubled with the idea that he would have to one day soon assumed the role as King of Gondor. Again Legolas sighed. Sometimes being considered wiser than another was a burden to the elf, but if it was to help his friends then he would bear it well.
The elf heard as Angrod and Merry were let into the room by the guards. Both seemed relieved to find that the elf was alright and quickly ran over to greet their friend. The wolf's tail began to instantly wag as he looked up at the elf, and this motion was vaguely visible to the elf's eyes because of the great light within the wolf, and he smiled a little to his friend. The Hobbit as well, he was glad to see, and nodded his head to him. Merry couldn't help but feel a little gratified again that the elf was his friend, because even that motion looked very graceful. He bounced over to the elf quickly.
"Legolas," he cried. "I'm glad to see that you have recovered."
"It has been a while, mellon-nin," the elf replied. "How was Pippin?" Merry seemed to grow very upset then. (my friend)
"He was alright," Merry replied. "But Theoden and Gandalf agreed that it was too dangerous to have Pippin here. They rode for Gondor because of something Pippin had seen, and Gandalf told us that he's going to try and convince the Steward of Gondor, Boromir's father, to call for help. I think Sauron's moving again."
"Do not fear Pippin," the elf said. "If Pippin is with Gandalf, then it is for the best. The Wizard will take good care of him. And even if Sauron is moving, then we will not be led to defeat like lambs to be slaughtered. We will all fight with the pride and loyalty that our races have to offer. It might be the last battle we face, but we will face it none the less."
"But I am frightened," the Hobbit cried. "I am frightened of what will happen. I am scared that I will die. What will there be to remember of me then? Will I just fade?"
The elf listened for a moment, trying to think of what to say. He knew that the young hobbit needed his wisdom now more than ever, and he needed to give it to him. He had little idea what to say. After all, what could he say? He felt unprepared for this situation. He felt young suddenly and inexperienced. He needed to say something to the hobbit, anything. No words would come, but he decided to speak anyway.
"Why does the wolf howl, Merry?" the elf asked. The hobbit looked up, seeming a little surprised.
"What?" Merry asked. "I don't know. Because it is alive?"
"Yes," the elf said. "Because it is alive. That howl can carry many sounds: anger, fear, hate, love, loneliness, happiness, sadness. It is a sound that haunts many races, because wolves are unpredictable and will kill for now reason. Elves however love the sound, because it carries every single emotion in it. The wolf howls because it is alive, and short though its life may be, it lives it to the fullest it can. Life is precious. Even beasts than men call nothing more than dumb animals know that. So we must live Merry, until the moment we die. We must live and fight on because that is all we have left. What will you leave behind? A legacy. A hope. We will be remembered, if not by the races of middle of earth then in the stars, where our memories will always live freely. It will be our lightt, and we will shine down on middle earth until the time that the world will end."
"But why are we fighting?" the Hobbit asked. Again the elf was silent a moment, and turned his head towards the window where light was streaming in. He could not see it, but the hobbit's eyes still turned to follow the elf's would be line of sight.
"Because we must Merry," the prince replied. "I suppose I cannot answer for you, but I can answer for myself. I fight because I love the light. It was robbed from me, but I am always striving to reach it. If Sauron should win, then the light will be lost. I cannot allow that to happen. Even if I must die, I will. If dying to the Balrog in Moria would have pushed the Fellowship into completing their task and defeating Sauron, then I would have gladly died for that. If my death at the battle of Helm's Deep would have made Theoden and his men stronger and able to survive the coming darkness then I would have died for that. If I must die so that others may survive then I will die for that. If I must fall to darkness so that the light may yet reign then I would walk to Sauron and let myself fall to it. You see, I do not fear death or the darkness that surrounds me because I cannot. I will be strong and fight on because it means that the light still exists. I do not fear death because I am willing to give everything. I fight because I believe in the light. I would be killed then I would not regret that."
"You fight because of the light?" Merry asked.
"I do," the elf said. "Because that is all I have left to cling to. I told you once that my people love the light. So too, do I love it. I love too the beings of middle earth, imperfect though we all are. I do not fear death because it is this that I fight for. If giving everything would allow the opening to see Sauron fall, then I would give it all. But now Merry, you too must answer the question. Why do you fight?"
The elf listened to the hobbit as he shifted a little, trying hard to think. He knew that the hobbit was a little confused. After all, it was a question that was never easy to answer. To do that, he would have to look deep inside himself, into the strengths and the faults, and attempt to assess why at all he had come on this quest and not leave when he had the chance. Now that he was here, there was no going back. So the elf waited as the silence stretched into long minutes. At last, the hobbit looked up.
"I think," Merry began with some difficulty. "I fight because I am afraid. I am afraid of what will happen if Sauron will win. I fight for my people, for all people. I fight because I do not want to see such darkness fall upon anyone. But the hobbits in the Fellowship, most of us aren't like the rest of you. Frodo was raised by Bilbo, so he doesn't count. But the rest of us are just...ordinary. We have no great bloodlines that pass on strength to us, not very closely at least. Our people don't fight wars, and they don't do much of anything. We are just normal. We hardly seem to have a reason for being here at all, let alone on this quest." The elf smiled patiently at the young hobbit. He thought he was of no use?
"That is untrue Merry," Legolas said. "The halflings of the Fellowship are of so much use to all of us!"
"How?" Merry demanded, frustrated. "Tell me how! We are small. We cannot fight like you. We are often afraid and we have done nothing. We failed Gandalf, we failed you, we have failed Boromir!"
"You point out only the faults," Legolas observed. "But it is in the nature of all of us to do so. You have never failed us. Once before I had nearly thought of giving up, of falling to the darkness, but you and Pippin brought me out of it. None of the rest of us could carry the Ring of Power. It is a hobbit, a being though to have little courage that carries it, not an elf, nor a dwarf, a man, or even the wizard. You are loyal, and the foolish attempt to distract the Urk-hai is the only reason I am here today to speak to you of it. You and Pippin convinced the Ents to turn against Isengard, and Sam and Frodo carry the Ring to Mordor, something none of the rest of us would be brave enough to attempt with so few. Even in the bleakest situations, you find the light and cling to it, giving us all hope. Your courage gives us courage. The fact that you did not turn and run when you could tells of your strength. This strength runs deep: the strength of innocence that most races have forgotten."
The hobbit was still and silent. Only his breathing could give away to the elf that he was indeed here at all. It was obvious that the halfing had thought that there was nothing of use to the Fellowship at all from his presence, and that the hobbit had probably spent many nights worrying over that exact thing. The elf smiled then at the hobbit.
"You are here," the elf said. "Because you give us strength. Even if you do not fight well, you give us the strength to. You will find your strength and take up your sword one day Merry, though it might take you some time to find it. Perhaps you do not have a bloodline that is full of strength, but all bloodlines must be forged by someone. By a person with no name and no honor. You will be that person. As I have often found, it is not the heroes that hold back the darkness. It is only the heroes that fight back the darkness when its hold becomes too great. It is the common folk, the people leading ordinary lives and showing ordinary acts of kindness that keeps the darkness at bay. Thus your strength is greater than mine, because you are so ordinary. The Valor chose every member of this quest for a reason. Gandalf was to show us the way. Aragorn was to lead us when we needed it. Gimli was to show us how to be strong and hardy when we thought to fall. Boromir was to forge our bonds stronger and bond us through time. I was to cling to the light when others lost it. And you the halflings were to give us courage and show us the hope that we had lost. Take heart Merry, for you have done this well. You have never once failed us."
There was still silence from the Hobbit, only now Merry seemed to be overcome with some emotion that the elf couldn't quite name. However, eventually he looked up at the elf, and though he could not see it, gratefulness and admiration shone in his eyes.
"Thank you," Merry said. "Thank you for being here today, to speak with me. None of us have ever failed have we? Thank you for again showing me the light." The elf smiled and bowed his head a little to the hobbit.
"It was my pleasure," the elf said. "We must all at times be reminded to look to the stars, instead of the darkness of the night. Now, I believe we should leave. This room is a good one for not being disturbed, but we must now go and take council with the others for a while."
The hobbit nodded and turned to leave the room. Feeling proud suddenly of his prince, the wolf turned as well, and Legolas followed Angrod out of the room. The guards seemed please, both to see the elf awake, and to know that they could finally go and rest a while. They departed, and the hobbit led the two of them towards the throne room, where Theoden and everyone else were.
Upon entering the room, Legolas realized that Theoden and Aragorn were arguing, and it soon became obvious the source of their argument as Gondor. Should they aid Gondor or not? Theoden was fine with allowing it to fall, and Aragorn was vehemently against this. However as the elf arrived and they both saw him, the argument was put aside.
"I am glad to see you have recovered my friend," Aragorn said to the elf in elvish. Legolas inclined his head to him.
"The darkness has little hold of me here," the prince assured him, also in elvish.
"Legolas," Theoden said. "I am glad to see you have recovered."
The elf turned his blind eyes towards the king, and silence fell over the hall. It seemed to everyone that even though he was blind, his gaze was boring into the very soul of the human king. He was looking for something there, something that mortal eyes could never hope to see. There was a long moment of silence.
"You do not wish to aid Gondor," Legolas said at last.
"No," the king admitted.
"Why?" the elf asked simply. There was again silence.
"Why?" the king replied. "Because they had never helped us. The old alliances are dead. Gondor would have let us fall in Helm's Deep, even if I had called for their help. Why should I help them?"
"So you would hold a grudge like a bitter woman?" Aragorn demanded angrily.
"You know nothing of us, Ranger," Theoden spat just as angrily. Legolas raised his hand to Aragorn.
"Enough my friend," the elf said. "Your anger has clouded your judgment and your words. Let me speak with him now."
Aragorn fell silent, and again all eyes turned to the elf. Instead of speaking to Theoden to calm him, he turned his gaze towards the sound of the man's breathing again. He could sense a great hopelessness in him now, and he understood it as well. The elf's level and seeking gaze quickly calmed the king, giving Legolas the room he needed to speak so that his words would be heard and the king would not ignore his logic.
"I know," the elf began. "that I know little about your people. However I know of mine, and of the care it takes to govern anyone. I see why you will not help Gondor. It makes sense, but they are no reasons to not send aid if Gondor should call. My father too, did not wish to harm our people. When the dragon came, he allowed it to take over and did nothing. I urged him to help, but he did not wish to harm us. Then later the dragon came again from its stronghold, and the suffering was much worse than before. The consequences of inaction were greater than action, and my father has now regretted it. I do not call him a coward. He was only doing what he thought best, but I do call him a fool. It is the same here. You do not wish harm upon your people. But if you do not fight and Gondor falls, then the consequences will be much worse. Your people are strong, but against the might of Mordor alone they will fall. It is for this reason that I urge you to help Gondor, even if you do not wish to. You must join with Gondor and fight this darkness, because the age of the elves is ending, and the age of man has begun."
There was no movement in the hall, no words. Silence prevailed all around him. It was a lonely and fearful silence, one that everyone feared breaking. What could one say now? The elf was suddenly consciously aware of how much everyone was looking at him, listening to his words. What if he failed now? What if he misspoke? If he were to make a mistake now, then there would be much lost. However he pushed those thoughts out of his mind and concentrated instead at swinging the king to his side of thinking.
"You also ask why you should aid Gondor," the elf continued. "when they had not aided you. This too is simple to answer. You should aid them because you must. You know as well as I that men are prideful creatures. You must swallow your pride, and show that your will is stronger. You must help them because the old alliances are dead. If you cannot stand against this darkness as one with Gondor, then there is no hope for any of us." the elf paused then. "There is another reason too. Many of my people believe that the strength of man has died, and that it died the day that Isildur did not have the strength to cast the Ring into the fire. It is because of this that Sauron survived and we are here discussing this today. You must prove to them that you are strong, that you can defeat the darkness. Only then will we be able to leave Middle Earth in good conscious, knowing that the strength of man has not failed."
There was more silence, a heavy silence. There was no response from the king of Rohan. Legolas wondered if he had angered him, but he kept his face passive and patient as always. He had long ago learned to be this way, for the people around him other than elves aged and died so very quickly. In the silence he waited, until at last Theoden spoke.
"This is your wisdom for me Legolas?" Theoden asked, his voice impossible alone for the elf to tell what he was thinking.
"It is," Legolas replied. "little though it seems. I pray that it helps you to choose your path, whatever that might be. I leave you with these words: Laho Calad. Drego Morn." (May light flare. May darkness flee)
With that, Angrod realized that the elf was ready to leave, and turned again. The elf and his wolf silently departed, the elf's face still as unreadable as before. Everything he had said had been true and felt from the elf's heart. He only hoped that he had not spoken carelessly and angered the king again so that his wisdom fell upon deaf ears. He had also not explained what the two phrases he had spoke meant, because he knew that Aragorn would tell them what he had said. Still, he had spoken, and he could now only hope for the best.
The elf heard as Gimli approached. He would know the heavy footfalls and strong breath anywhere. The elf slowed his pace a little and allowed the dwarf to catch up to him. For a while there was silence as the dwarf regarded the elf carefully. Then he nodded to himself, which Legolas heard in the rustling of his clothes and hair rather than saw.
"You did good lad," the dwarf said. "Your words will sway Theoden, of that I am sure. You always did have a way with words."
"That is not all you have to say is it, Mellon-nin?" Legolas asked, feeling drained.
"I have been meaning to ask you," the dwarf said. "What does that mean? You call me that so often, yet I never asked. I have heard you call the hobbits and Aragorn that as well."
"It means, my friend," the elf replied. "I have no reservations. Why should I not call you my friends when so much darkness surrounds us? After all we have suffered and survived together it seems only fitting."
There was silence from the dwarf. Suddenly the elf feared that he had somehow made another mistake and had somehow angered the dwarf. In the beginning of their journey the dwarf had often called him useless and threatened him with his life. Though their relationship had blossomed, he was unsure how the dwarf truly thought of him. He was often issuing contests between them and trying to prove that he was better than him. But unknown to the prince, the dwarf had thought much the same. He had thought that the elf had found him tiresome and cruel, because he had only ever been unfair to him. To hear the elf call him his friend suddenly made the dwarf overcome with emotion, and for a while he couldn't speak.
"Thank you," the dwarf at last managed to choke out. "It means a lot to me, it really does. But... well... I was thinking. After all of this, if we still live to tell the tale, I'd like you to come with me. There is a cave by Helm's Deep, the one that the women and children had hidden in. It is there that I would like to go. It is filled with such beauty! Of stone glittering in many colors, gems and gold running in veins. It is nature's beauty at its finest. Even if you cannot see it, I would like to show you the place, for it is beautiful. I know though that you dislike caves so I...I would travel with you to Fangorn Forest as well. And there you could tell me of the trees and what they say, to me, and show me all you know of the forest and the Ents. Then we could make memories to last all your long years." Legolas paused a moment.
"You fear to lose me, Mellon-nin?" the elf asked.
"Aye lad," the dwarf replied, sounding pained. "I do. You are one of the few friends I have made other than my own people, by far the strangest, and you are my best friend. I fear to lose you. I fear to lose the fragile bond we created for our people, even past our hatred for each other. I fear to lose your wisdom, which I have needed, and your light, which shines brightly in the darkness, though it is little and less than others."
"So rather than think of that," the elf said. "You make plans for the future."
"You have survived on so much luck until now my friend," the dwarf said. "But luck can only take you so far. I know that soon it will fail and only your strength will remain. You are strong, but perhaps not strong enough. We have already lost much, and losing you would be a blow to my heart that I could not take."
"I understand, Mellon-nin," the elf replied. "Then I will make this promise to you. When we survive this, I will go with you to these caves, and you with me to Fangorn. There we will make memories so strong that they will echo across the stars for all eternity, a friendship that will last all the ages, because there will be no barriers for us then."
"It's decided then," the dwarf said, though with a tightness still in his throat. "We will go there, and we will outlast all time."
The two friends fell silent a moment. They did not speak, and instead listened with their hearts to the other, taking in all they could. They both feared that soon the end would come, and the beautiful ties that had been forged for their races. They feared losing one another in the oncoming storm. But neither voiced such fears, realizing that it was pointless to do so, and that it would bring them nothing but more agony. Instead they focused on creating a memory, a simple memory, but a strong one none the less. The memory of one another's company, and the memory of the peace they had just before the storm broke. That way, if one died, then the other would always remember them as they had been, and not what they were. That way, the bond they felt with one another would live forever in the other's heart. There was little else to do at that point.
So what did you think? This chapter was both sad and a little happy. I think this one turned out pretty well, and it describes the relationship between the two well. I hope you guys enjoyed and will continue to support me, and I hope that this update was welcome because I had some time to actually write.
Feel free to leave a review below and tell me how you think I did. :D