This chapter is a little dicey since the beginning really should have been in the chapter before but its here now so I can't quite move it. But in future I might. It switches to Legolas's perspective fairly quickly and hopefully this chapter wont be too confusing if it is unbearable please give me and idea and I will try to make it flow better. I'm sorry its so short! I'll make the next one longer promise! Happy Reading!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything its all Tolkien.
Chapter 7:
Of Dwarves and Elves
I listened to the strange song the creature was now singing when he suddenly stopped mid tune. It was a beautiful song, what I would have imagined how the world was sung into existence and yet it was incomplete. Was he doomed to sing the unfinished songs? Surely the Valar would not doom such a creature, no harm could come from tunes half sung.
I admired the cave walls, vines of mithril dripping like broken faucets and yet no sound came from their falling. Not the noise of dripping or the sound of running water, only the quiet hush of silver like a gleaming whisper, glowing in the dark.
The creature gestured toward my again and gripped his throat and began to sing again. I felt the song come on its own and as the words slipped from my lips the room grew brighter, the mithril glowed brighter in response. The strange creature smiled and we sang together and when he stopped I continued on. I did not know the words and yet the came. It was a song of the dwarves and of the elves and of the secrets passed down through rock and water.
" You sing like those they can not be. " Said a voice.
I looked around but saw no one except the creature. He was running his hands over the water. His paws drifting in and out of the silvery oil.
" Yes I am the water under the mountain. I feed into the great oceans and have seen much. Though I have not a name I am still, just as he. Would you grant him a name? Give him what those have never thought to give?"
" A name?" I asked and I looked down out into the water and could see the reflection of a woman without a face, replaced by ripples from the water.
"Write out the name in the water and I will spread the name. He will be known though only you will ever have seen him and perhaps one other should he find the tunnels too dark and if his fight brings him this deep."
" Who will come this far?"
" You know him and he will be tested. But do not dwell on him you must write the name."
The creatures face was beginning to fade, the skin began to morph and droop at his eye. He was losing his face and as the water ran from his skin he felt the change and rushed to dip his face back into the water.
" What did I drink? "
" You know it as moon shimmer. Water as strong as silver, used to write the gates of Moria , the secret passed between the Elves of old."
I stood up quickly feeling stronger then I had.
" You will be able to cast its light into a container and it then can be used to carve invisible doors that may only open at a word. But only you can do this, only those who drink even just a little can weld its secret. That is the key."
" Why give me this?" I asked. I looked to the creature who admired the water in longing now. As the water came to be still the woman waved her hand across the her face and the ripples continued.
" That is for you to discover. I only ask that you give a name in return. I do not ask for much."
" I know." I answered unsure of what to do next.
What is in a name? I thought to myself quietly and I sat down beside the water. I brought my face close to its shimmer. I let my hair drop into the liquid and watched as it soaked into my hair.
" A name." She said again.
All was quiet in the cave, just the water rippling and lapping against the silvery shore. The creature looked to me but said no words. The water spoke no more and all things came to be still. I hardly breathed as I dipped my fingers into the silvery film and spelled out a name.
" Lipa." I said aloud. " A tree with sweet white flowers that grows and can mend many a wound. Men use it in teas and for medicine. It is not the common tongue name. It is a tongue I can hardly remember from a land that barely exists."
The creature looked to me with uncertainty.
" Lipa." he said.
" Lipa." replied the water.
" Lipa." I repeated with a smile.
The water rippled and the creature began to sing loud. He walked into the water slowly disappearing beneath its surface completely.
" Wait!" I called out. But no answer came and instead the cave grew dim, the mithril began to darken. As if the creature had taken its light with it.
" Is that it?" I cried out into the dark. I rushed to fine an escape and so I jumped into the water but found that it was just too dark. The creature had gone and I was left alone.
" Where do I go now?" I shouted.
" You must make a door." Said a voice. " Cast the light upon the walls and you will find that many before you have been here. This is the Chamber of Ilthildin built in the Halls of Kifln, deep in Moria the sanctuary of dwarves and elves where they shared their secrets."
I looked up into the dark and felt the light burst through my skin and as I looked upon the walls I saw doors both small and tall at every available space. Silvery stairs appeared at one particular door and as I began to walk up them they opened at my touch. I turned around to admire the cave once more in its entire splendor and could see in the mithril the reflection of a woman.
" Thank you." I said.
" Fear not the dark, dear one. Do not let it ripen your heart from its hardship. The world has far more good then bad and though bad things happen all good things will come in time. One simply needs to wait."
Legolas
Legolas could not rest. Despite having told Grace that he would. Sweat collected on his brow and his hands felt slick to the touch. He could not shake the shadows from his mind. He felt strangely guilty for he had kissed her and that had gone against all matter of Elfish custom. He felt guiltier still because who was to know what would happen on this quest and had he known his feelings had grown so deep for her he would have left her behind in Rivendell. She would have been safe there surrounded by people he could trust. But here in the wild who could he count on, only himself and Aragorn who already had plenty on his shoulders.
Legolas listened intently to the way Grace's breaths came in soft waves like water against a sandy shore. She felt like to ocean to him, or rather what he imagined the ocean to be like. Her hands like the tide, her skin seemed to pull him in like the moon and how he longed for her embrace.
If only his father could see him now. He would be appalled no doubt. Legolas could hear his father's voice so clearly like and echo in the dark.
" She has clouded your judgment completely Legolas. As if you were some mere elfing! Have you no respect for her? Pronouncing all but your soul to her so soon, so unexpectedly! Some courtships take centuries!"
Legolas frowned. His Father's voice and stern look in his mind's eye gave him a sour taste in his mouth. His Father would not be happy with him. But it was not in Legolas's nature to be rash. Perhaps he had been but the darkness of the mines and the threat of death had left him feeling more human. Life had never felt so delicate before and the emotions that came from him were fast and changing. Had he been in the forest with her he would have waited patiently, he would have been his father's son certainly. Instead he blamed it on the mines. How did the dwarves stand it?
He looked over to Gimli who slept like a fallen log. His hands bent around his ax and his beard ruffled and disheveled. Legolas had met his father and now here he was with his son. How could life be so fleeting and yet so long. Surely the dwarves had a better grasp of it then the elves. For time did not exist to him as it did to all other beings.
" Dwarves are not to be trusted." Said his father for over 2000 years. " They will never learn."
It had flooded his mind constantly and when Gimli's father along with the rest of Thorin's company had escaped Mirkwood it had only helped cement his fathers hatred. A hatred Legolas had taken fully and never questioned. But now he had become slightly skeptical. Were dwarves truly as bad as his father had come to believe and perhaps being rash in times of war when it came to love was not such a horrible thing.
" You know nothing of war or of loss! " his father had yelled when Legolas was but an elfing. It had been directed at another but Legolas had overheard.
He was born when the forest was not sick yet and had stayed close to his father his entire life. The Greenwood was filled with magic, trees that grew to great heights, rivers and small acres of violet flowers rested at the base of the tall willows, and the sound of songs filled the air, for Legolas could remember nights where the sun dipped late and his father had danced beneath the moon with his mother. Parties and songs and much happiness grew in the Greenwood. His father had said his birth reassured that the forest would be always be called the Greenwood. But it was at a time that rumors began to grow that Sauron had once again taken form. His father had been so sure that he could protect the Greenwood, protect his wife and his only son. It was then that Legolas began to suspect that darkness loomed and the feeling of the forest had changed completely. In the year 1050 when Legolas had just turned just 52 a shadow had fallen over the Greenwood and with it a new name had emerged, Mirkwood it was now called.
Legolas shook his head.
" Mirkwood, my home." He murmured to himself for he has spent nearly his whole life in Mirkwood and not the Greenwood after which he was named.
Legolas watched silently as Gandalf woke Aragorn for his watch. Legolas could not help but stand to join him. They sat beside each other in silence. Letting the dampness of the dark settle in around them.
" Do you believe I have been brash?" Asked Legolas quietly looking at Aragorn with forlorn eyes.
" I have never known you to be so. Why? What troubles you?" Asked Aragorn.
"I'm afraid I told Grace of my feelings for her somewhat presumptuously. She is precious to me Aragorn and I fear I may have undone myself to a sorrowful ending."
" What is it you spoke of?"
" She rids me of my fears Aragorn. She breathes new life into me. I cannot explain it. Surely you must know of what I mean?"
Aragorn nodded silently and sighed. He fiddled with a silver charm around his neck and kissed it.
" Indeed I know of what you speak." He replied solemnly.
" And what am I to do now? I kissed her only briefly but now I can not seem to rest for fear of what may come to hurt her."
" And what has she said?"
" She had no words but her heart rang true. She feels for me though she too does not know how to explain it. Have I been brash Aragorn? Have I ruined her virtue in some way? I meant no harm only I could not keep my feelings to myself. It is not like me! Curse these mines for they make my tongue loose and my heart eager."
Aragorn placed a hand on Legolas's shoulder.
" My friend it is not the mines. You are in love and in all your years it is your confusion that strikes you with such ideas. Do not be troubled. You are still honorable and you have done nothing to encroach upon her virtue. In fact I dare say you have eased her mind for I believe she was quite unsure of your intentions." Said Aragorn with a small smile.
" But what will I do now Aragorn. I cannot bear to think of what should happen if harm were to come to her. I must focus upon the quest and yet she plagues me."
All at once Aragorn became very serious. There was a small pause.
" You must put your love aside Legolas, as I have and she must as well. Do not let it linger in your mind and cloud your judgment. You are a warrior as is she. You must both fight to keep your love at bay. You cannot bring to blossom what your heart wants just yet. There are things at stake here more then just your love. The entire fate of Middle Earth is on the brink of war and you must forget love for now and fight for Frodo. He is our only hope for without him all love will die."
Legolas nodded and Aragorn gave him a solemn smile. They turned to watch the darkness together as they had done countless times before. They saw brief glimpses of the creature Gollum in the dark, His large eyes peering mercilessly at them before disappearing and reappearing at a closer distance.
" Gollum grows ever closer with each passing day. He is getting more and more curious." Said Aragorn. He put his hand on the hilt of his sword and drew it up into the darkness. He did nothing but let it gleam yet it seemed Gollum took notice and quickly shrank away.
"I would shoot him down but Gandalf has forbidden it. I cannot pretend to understand why but I trust Mithrandir and will do as he bids."
" Indeed he has said the same to me. But we must be weary of Gollum, we may yet lose him once we are out of the darkness for he knows Moria well it seems."
"Perhaps we could ask for which route would be safest for our company." Said Legolas lightheartedly and they chuckled together at the thought. They sat in silence a while longer letting the stillness settle back in around them.
Legolas chuckled again.
"What is it?" Asked Aragorn.
" My father will have a fit when he finds out." Said Legolas smiling. He felt his eyes lit up from the thought.
" Oh? You think he will not approve of Grace?"
" No it is not Grace he will not approve of. It is the fact that I've actually come to somewhat enjoy Gimli's company." Laughed Legolas glancing behind to see Gimli snoring loudly.
Aragorn turned around to see the heavy bearded dwarf snort loudly and laughed.
" Your father may have trouble with that."
" Indeed." Answered Legolas.
" Tell me Legolas do you think your father sail?"
Legolas sat motionless it was question he did not expect. He turned to Aragorn.
" Perhaps, though he holds resentment to the sea, resentment that has not seized in over 2000 years. It will be hard for him, for the sea took my mother and she left without so much as a word." Said Legolas with some hint bitterness.
" Surely you do not blame her. Arwen has explained to me the sea longing and it is a terrible feeling."
" I know the stories well. It is the reason my father forbade me to ever leave Mirkwood and yet here I am. Just as my mother traveled without so much as a word I too am traveling without having told my father of my intentions. He often said that I remind him much of her but I could not see it until now."
" But you are also like him Legolas. For your father fought in the war of the Last Alliance and he must understand the duty you have to Middle earth just as he did."
" Indeed and he saw my Grandfather slain and he never fully recovered. I remember my mother saying that it was only after I was born that she could see light in his eyes again. The light she had fallen in love with, that light she left Lotherien for."
Aragorn took out his pipe and began to smoke. The grey curls and the smell of the old forest took Legolas back to a simpler time. Aragorn passed it to him and he inhaled deeply.
" I have been selfish my friend. I am sorry. It is not like me to despair." Said Legolas taking to playing with his the shaft of his bow tracing the vines the decorated it with his finger tips.
" It is fair Legolas, I see no harm from it. It humbles me to hear the problems of others. It makes my own seem less heavy."
" You are truly a great friend to me Aragorn."
" And you to me." Replied Aragorn.
They spent the rest of the watch in silence, comfortable with the peace of the camp and the heaviness had lifted from their minds somewhat.
Legolas let the thoughts of Grace fall away and instead focused on Frodo and the ring. He felt less anxiously after speaking with Aragorn, more himself. He was more focused.
Soon the company began to wake, Gandalf first then Boromir, and Gimli . The hobbits still rested and Grace was fast asleep. He watched her breath fall in small waves. He saw Gandalf approach him with a small doubt he had heard what Legolas had said to Grace in the dark.
" We will take the center route for it smells less foul then others but I would have you and Gimli scout ahead while Aragorn and Boromir check behind to make sure we can double back if need be." Said Gandalf.
Gandalf leaned against his staff and could see the weariness of the wizard. Legolas was surprised but took comfort in knowing that once they were out into the fresh air everyone's spirits would improve.
" Of course." Answered Legolas as he got up to pack his things.
" and Legolas do not go far." Continued Gandalf.
Legolas nodded and he was soon met by Gimli. Together they went into the darkness down the path Gandalf had chosen. It smelled less foul that was sure but it was darker and looked more shrouded in dust and dirt then the other routes had seemed.
" How much of Moria do you know of Gimli?" Asked Legolas after a reached a long hall that strenched out far beyond them.
Gimli looked slightly taken aback and turned to Legolas to make sure he was not jesting .
" I know very little of dwarves. Except for a chance meeting with your father when he was in Thorin's company."
Gimli grumbled and they stalked on.
" Well Master Elf, Moria or Khazad dum as it was known has long been place of great mystery. It holds the luxuries of a great many dwarf secrets. The Dwarves that settled under the mountain were called the Longbeards of old Khazad dum and were lead by none other then Durin the Deathless. "
"I am to guess they had long beards?" Asked Legolas with a small smirk. He only meant to tease.
" Indeed Master Elf." Said Gimli not quite amused. He huffed and began to quicken is pace.
" What brought them to this place?"
" It is said that when Durin the Deathless traveled to the eastern valleys of the Misty Mountains he gazed upon the Kheled- Zaram or shimmering Mirrormere. It was there that he saw stars always reflecting in its surface and took it as a sign."
Legolas could notice a change in the way Gimli spoke. His pride and his sensitivity to his kin all could be heard in his voice
" That must have a beautiful sight to have stirred such passion." Replied Legolas for he understood somewhat now what beauty could do to a man.
" Quite right Master Elf. For while all dwarves love gold there is nothing quite as precious then the beauty of things that are fairest. We dwarves are fiercely loyal it is in our love of beauty that we delved deep into Khazad dum." Said Gimli but he became strangely quiet and forlorn but continued and Legolas listened eagerly.
"Too deep we delved for we lost what we loved most and such has been the displacement of dwarves every since."
Legolas had not expected for Gimli to confine in him in such a way. They stopped in the dark beneath a great wave of darkness. They could scarcely see and so they turned around in silence. Legolas felt deeply for Gimli for he too knew what it was like to lose a home to darkness and Legolas felt strangely attached to the dwarf.
Suddenly Legolas tripped. He stood quickly shocked. He had only tripped so many times in his life and now he had tripped in front of the dwarf. He would never hear the end of it.
" You better get your eyes fixed Laddie! Seems to me you are getting a bit old in your sights!" Laughed Gimli.
Legolas could not help but smile.
" We will see Gimli whose eye sight is better on the battle field." Replied Legolas rushing to keep in step with Gimli.
" Ha! Why gamble on sight when I can beat you in combat. I am sure I will have killed more then you in orcs in any battles hence forth."
" I wager not."
" Aye but I wager yes." Replied Gimli with a loud smile and shoved Legolas away from him in jest. Legolas could help but feel in great cheer beside him.
As they were in sight of camp he saw that Grace was still asleep and for some strange reason it put him at ease to see her resting. Her injury had been at the forefront of his mind and a good nights rest is what she needed. Gandalf called him over .
" Let us discuss our route a little ways from camp that way Grace may have some more rest. Boromir will watch over them."