Reasons to Hope, Reasons to Live
Chapter 19
Beta: Lotrspnfangirl
OoO. OoO. OoO.
Thranduil sat alone in the castle's gardens, lost in deep thoughts. From the distance, the sound of an ongoing feast in the main hall could be heard but the Elven King paid no heed to anything around him. He was so engrossed that he even failed to notice
the figure approaching him.
"What are you doing all by yourself, old friend?"
The Elven King looked up to see Gandalf standing in front of him.
'I wish to be by myself, Gandalf,' he said in a tone that held no place for argument.
'That tone does not affect me, Thranduil,' the wizard stated calmly as he took his seat by the Elven King. 'Nor that glare,' he added, offering the glaring king a small smile.
'I suppose not,' the Elven King said, sighing in defeat.
'So what is troubling you, Mellon?'
'Don't you mean to ask what isn't troubling me?' Thranduil inhaled sharply, staring into space. 'Since my arrival, I have found nothing but trouble in this castle of cold-stone. For one, there is a traitor, possibly more than one, who claimed the
life of my granddaughter and are probably after my son's. Second, my messenger has disappeared, probably killed though I do not know the reason. Third, my son's physical and mental health is degrading with each passing minute while we watch helplessly,
unable to do anything, and his husband doesn't seem to care!'
'That's not fair, Thranduil. Aragorn cares deeply about Legolas.'
'Does he?' the elf retorted sharply. 'Then why hasn't he caught the culprits who ruined my son's life yet? Why hasn't he protected my son and his child just as he had promised to do?'
'Thranduil, Aragorn is trying his best to find the traitors...'
'Legolas is dying, Gandalf!' Thranduil stated persistently. ''Trying his best' isn't good enough. We don't have time at our leisure. Legolas has surrendered completely to his grief and now he started to have illusions of his dead lover, mercilessly
haunting him. His life now hangs on a thin thread that could be cut off any moment!'
The old wizard silently ruffled his long beard, not knowing how to respond. No one had anticipated anything of what had occurred in the months that followed Aragorn and Legolas' marriage.
'Time is bound to heal any wound, my old friend,' he finally spoke. 'And Legolas must learn to cope with his grief.'
'He thinks that he is to blame for his daughter's death,' the Elven King said bitterly.
'What? Why would Legolas blame himself for Míreth's death?'
Thranduil looked at the wizard with an unreadable expression on his face.
FLASHBACK
Thranduil placed a comforting hand on Legolas' shoulder who was sitting all by himself in the balcony of his chambers.
'What are you thinking of, Greenleaf?' he asked, sitting down next to him.
'Do you think I'm cursed, Ada?' the young elf whispered softly as he stared absent-mindedly into the dark night.
'What? Why are you saying such a thing, Legolas?'
'My loved ones keep dying around me for no reason.' Tears slid down fair cheeks. 'I'm a curse on those who love me.'
Legolas gasped as his chin was roughly lifted and forced into his father's direction.
'You are not a curse, Legolas,' the Elven King exclaimed in mild anger. 'All these deaths were only misfortunate events. They have nothing to do with you.'
'How can you say that when it was me who killed Nana?' the young elf asked bitterly. 'Naneth would've been alive if hadn't she had given birth to me.'
'That's not true,' Thranduil said heatedly, his heart breaking at his son's words. 'Your Naneth died because I was careless enough to take her on an outing during her final months of pregnancy.' The king took a deep breath as he recalled that fateful
day. 'While we were enjoying a picnic, we were attacked by Yrch and a poisoned arrow hit Aarien. By the time we reached the palace, she was already dying. The poison was so strong that it only took an hour to spread through her body.' He ran a hand
through his son's hair. 'As I raced to the healing wing, carrying her in my arms, she begged me to save you, Legolas. She had fought the poison long enough so the healer could deliver you before the poison killed you as well.'
'Deliver me?' Legolas asked brokenly.
Thranduil nodded. 'You were cut from your Naneth's body in order to save you. You didn't kill her, Legolas. If anything, I hold that blame.'
Legolas sniffed a sob before looking away. 'I was careless during my pregnancy, Ada. I had pushed myself beyond my limits causing the premature birth of my daughter.'
Thranduil gritted his teeth, wishing he could console his son with the truth but knew he couldn't. He had promised Elrond and Aragorn not to reveal the truth until the culprits were caught and brought to justice. Instead, he reached forward and pulled
his son silently into his arms.
END OF FLASHBACK
Gandalf was astounded at the thought of Legolas blaming himself for the death of Míreth. Amidst their concentration to find the conspirators, they had all forgotten how the grieving young elf would explain the events that had occurred.
'When my wife died, I was so hurt that I'd forbidden everyone from ever talking about her death. Legolas had never received a proper answer about his mother's death beyond that she had died after giving birth to him. Thus, he had come to the conclusion
that it was him who killed her.' Thranduil's guilty tone cut deep into the heart of his friend. "And now, Elessar is repeating the same mistake by hiding the facts surrounding Míreth's death."
'Knowing the truth will not lessen Legolas' pain, Thranduil,' Gandalf replied. 'And Aragorn wanted to spare Legolas the pain and worry, honestly believing that Míreth would survive and the criminals would be caught.'
'But neither of these things happened!' Thranduil yelled in anger. 'That human only wished to hide his failure in protecting my son.'
'Telling Legolas the truth will only burden him more. Our only hope now is to find the culprits and bring them to justice before it's too late.'
'And until we catch the culprit, what do you suggest we do?' the Elven King asked.
'Love Legolas… that's all you have to do, Mellon. Show him you are here for him.'
'I—'
'Adar! Gandalf!' the two were interrupted by a panicked Mallorn who was rushing towards them from inside. 'Have you seen Legolas?' the younger elf asked as soon as he was near.
'Legolas? Wasn't he at the feast?' the king asked.
'He was but suddenly in the middle of dinner, he stood up and rushed out of the hall towards the gardens without a word. Elrohir and I followed him but we lost sight of him. Now Gimli and the hobbits are looking for him as well.'
The two elders exchanged worried looks.
'Keep looking for him, Mallorn,' the king finally said. 'We'll look as well.'
With that, the three parted ways to look for the missing prince.
OoO. OoO. OoO.
Legolas' breaths were becoming shallower as he gazed with glassy eyes at the elf standing proudly in front of him. Haldir's green eyes held the same condemning look in them that the Mirkwood prince had always seen for the past two weeks.
'Haldir…' he choked in the tears that slid down his cheeks. 'Why do you look at me in such manner?' he tried to get closer but the other elf held up his hand in a gesture to stop him. 'Haldir, saes,' the blond elf pleaded. 'Speak to me. Why are you so
upset with me?'
No reply came. Instead, the other elf slowly started to turn around.
'No, Haldir, wait!' Legolas begged. 'I'm sorry. I know the reason of your anger. I know that I am the one to blame. But I was helpless. I couldn't do anything. Saes, don't go again.'
'Legolas!' the young elf almost jumped when someone from behind him called his name. Glancing back, he saw Mallorn rushing up to him.
'Legolas, what happened?' his brother asked as soon as he was close by. 'Why did you leave the banquet so suddenly?'
'Mallorn,' Legolas whispered softly before turning his face towards Haldir, but the other elf had disappeared.
'Legolas, what's wrong?' Mallorn asked, looking in the same direction his brother was looking at.
'Haldir was here,' Legolas replied slowly as if he was in a trance. 'He was standing right, just before your arrival.'
'Legolas, that's enough!' Mallorn said sharply. 'Come, let's go back to the dining hall.' He attempted to pull the younger elf back inside, but Legolas resisted.
'I saw him, Mallorn,' he insisted. 'He was standing right there.'
'Legolas, you should stop this nonsense now,!' Mallorn almost yelled. 'Haldir is dead and you are married to another. Now, let us return. Everyone is waiting for you.'
'He was here. I swear he was here,' Legolas cried hysterically as he fought to free himself from his brother. 'Saes, Mallorn, believe me. Haldir was right here. He was here. He-He—' Overwhelmed by his emotions, the youngest Prince of Mirkwood suddenly
fainted in his brother's arms.
OoO. OoO. OoO.
Elrond shook his head disapprovingly as he gently covered the sleeping elf with the comforter. Legolas' ailment had reached a point where his sanity and life were both at their ends. And yet, none of them was able to cure him. Not only that, but now it
was hard to conceal it from the rest of the castle anymore, and various rumors had started to roam the White Castle.
The ancient healer sighed as he blew out the candles and left the prince to sleep in peace. They were in desperate need of a quick and effective solution or else they would lose Legolas forever.
All present in the living room stood up as Elrond emerged from the bedchamber.
The ancient lord scanned the worried faces and frowned as he noticed that his foster son wasn't present as he ought to be… Even Éomer, who was on an official visit to Minas Tirith, was present with his sister.
'How is he?' Mallorn's worried question snapped the ancient lord from his thoughts.
"He suffered a breakdown; let him rest," he replied in common tongue so the rest of the room would understand.
"My lord," Éomer spoke. "What ails Legolas so? During the banquet he looked as if he had seen a ghost."
The Lord of Imladris simply gave the Rohirrim King a sad look in response but didn't reply. Instead, he addressed Faramir who was standing at one corner by himself.
"Where is Aragorn?" he asked.
"I don't know, my lord," replied the blond Steward.
"Doesn't he know that we've found Legolas?" the Elven Lord asked.
"I informed him personally," the Steward answered.
"Maybe he lost his way back?" Pippin asked innocently.
"Fool!" Merry remarked, smacking his cousin lightly on the head.
"I'm sure that Aragorn will soon be here," Elrond said, smiling slightly at the two hobbits. "Let's us all go and have some rest and allow Legolas to have some as well."
Reluctantly, everyone stood up and started to leave.
'I fear that Legolas will not get any better if these illusions didn't cease soon,' Elrond said when no one except him, Lord Glorfindel, Gandalf, Thranduil and Mallorn remained.
'They aren't illusions!' Mallorn said suddenly.
'What? What do you mean?'
'I mean I've seen someone wearing the uniform of Lothlórien's marchwardens.'
'Who?' Glorfindel asked agitatedly.
'I haven't seen his face but his silver-blond hair was shining under the moonlight.'
'Are you saying that Haldir has raised from the dead and he's truly haunting your brother?' Thranduil asked sarcastically.
'I'm not saying that. All I'm saying is that Legolas may not be imaging this as we initially thought.'
'Mallorn, if it wasn't Haldir, then who was it? How would Legolas mistake someone else for Haldir, his lover?'
'Haldir's brothers share great resemblances to him...' Glorfindel remarked suddenly. 'And in Legolas' unstable state of mind, he could've easily mistaken one of them for his dead lover. But…Why would they do such a thing? What would they gain from driving
Legolas to madness?'
Mallorn cleared his throat nervously at his father's question.
'Mallorn, do you know something that we don't?' the Elven King's piercing glare and demanding tone left the prince with no choice but to spill everything he knew about Haldir's brothers to his father. By the time his son finished talking, Thranduil was
on the brink of going on a deadly rampage, immediately starting with his second-born. What his son had told him only added more to his already guilty conscience, which made his anger towards those who tried to hurt his beloved son erupt like the flames
of Mt. Doom.
'All of this happened and you didn't say a word of it to me all these years?!' Thranduil asked his son in a tight tone that promised an agonizingly slow death.
'None of us could've said any of this to you, Adar!' Mallorn replied with a slightly quivering voice. 'You would've prevented Legolas from ever leaving Mirkwood, at the very least. I couldn't tell you in fear of your anger and Legolas couldn't tell you
because of his shame.'
'So—'
'Thranduil, this isn't time for chastising your son!' Elrond chided, interrupting before the conversation went astray or developed into something more serious. 'What happened in the past isn't important anymore. What's important is what is happening now.
Legolas' sanity and life are at stake.' The lord paused for a moment before continuing, 'Now, even if we assume that the culprit is one of Haldir's brothers, why would they do such a thing? What could they possibly gain from it?'
'Maybe one of them is trying to seduce him, using their resemblances,' Mallorn suggested softly.
'Or drive him to madness for vengeance.'
'Vengeance?'
'Perhaps the news of Legolas' marriage to Aragorn didn't please them. Nonetheless, either reason gives enough motivation for them to do what they've done.'
'You think that one of Haldir's brothers is the one who—but, Míreth was Haldir's child!' Elrond exclaimed.
'But neither of them knows that, do they?' the blond Noldo asked sternly. 'They thought, as everyone else did, that she was Aragorn's… her presence might be a boulder in their way if they indeed wanted to seduce Legolas. Or they both saw her as a mean
of revenge against Legolas, whom they couldn't obtain. Besides, as marchwardens, they do possess a good amount of knowledge in herbs and poisons.'
Mallorn blinked several times, shifting his gaze confusedly between the three people present. He didn't understand the meaning behind Lord Glorfindel's words, nor did he understood the reasons behind the hard looks that suddenly appeared on the faces
of his father and Lord Elrond.
'What are you talking about, Lord Glorfindel?' he finally asked, unable to keep his curiosity at bay, causing everyone to look at him as if they had noticed his presence for the first time since the start of their meeting.
Clearing his throat, Lord Glorfindel decided to be the one to inform the young elf of what had occurred since his brother's arrival to Minas Tirith.
OoO. OoO. OoO.
After leaving the royal chambers, Faramir and Éomer went to look for Gondor's missing king. There was one place that the young steward could think of to look for his king: Aragorn's study next to the throne room, where the dark-haired man seemed to be
spending more and more time each day.
Reaching the doors, the steward asked the guards, "Is the king inside?"
"Yes, your grace," replied one of the guards.
The blond man silently passed through the two guards followed closely by Éomer. Fortunately, the huge door wasn't locked.
The study was very dim-lit when the two men entered, forcing them wait for few moments until their eye-sights adjusted before they could manage to spot the person sitting alone at one corner.
Aragorn sat in a large leather chair, one leg stretched over a small wooden table while the other was bent up to support the head that rested on top of the knee. He seemed to be asleep, since he didn't move when the door was closed behind the two men.
They exchanged glances before they approached him quietly.
"My Liege," Faramir called out softly.
"Leave me alone," came the solemn reply.
"But, your Majesty—"
"I don't want to hear another word, Faramir," Aragorn snapped, straightening up from his previous position and glaring at his steward. "I came here so I can be away from everyone and everything." He huffed in annoyance as he looked away. "I should've
locked the damn door behind me," he mumbled softly but loud enough for the two men to hear.
Éomer placed a hand on the steward's shoulder and gestured to him with his head to leave. Faramir looked uncertain for a moment before nodding his head, turning around, and leaving.
Rohan's king waited until the door was firmly closed before he turned his gaze to Aragorn who slumped back on the huge chair, eyes gazing into the nothingness ahead of him. Éomer stood in his place, staring silently and patiently at his friend who didn't
make a sound or move a muscle. After what it seemed to be eternity to both men, Aragorn let out a loud deep sigh.
"Are you going to stand there for long?" he asked in a deep grave voice.
"You didn't offer me a chair to sit on," Éomer replied calmly.
"You will not leave, no matter what I say, will you?" It was more of a statement than a question.
"No, I will not."
The dark-haired man sighed in defeat and gestured to the chair in front of him. Smiling slightly, Éomer took the offered place.
"Why aren't you with your husband?" he asked as he got comfortable.
At first, Aragorn didn't reply, instead, he continued to look ahead of him as he didn't hear the question.
"Aragorn, what are you doing here instead of being with Legolas?" Éomer repeated his question persistently. "You should be by his side right now. It's your duty."
"My duty?" Aragorn asked sarcastically. "All my life I've been doing what I've been told I should do. My duty," he said bitterly. "Ever since I reached adulthood, I've been doing nothing but carrying out my duties, regardless of how I truly
felt about them. And now my duty is to be by Legolas' side and silently listen to him pining for another."
"Aragorn!" the Rohirrim exclaimed in alarm,
"Yes!" the dark-haired man cried, banging the wooden table hardly with his fist. "That is the truth, Éomer."
The door suddenly opened and the two guards rushed inside.
"Your Majesty!" one of them exclaimed.
"Who gave you the permission to enter?" Aragorn roared, standing up.
"We heard a scream..." the guard explained.
The king's eyes turned into dark slits as he glared at the guards. "Get. Out." he said dangerously. "You are not allowed to enter, even if you hear me begging for help. AM I CLEAR?"
The two guards nodded, stunned to see their king so enraged, before scurrying out and closing the door behind them.
Taking a deep breath, Aragorn looked at the blond man. "I'd appreciate it if you leave now as well, Éomer," he said quietly.
"No," Éomer replied, looking at the other man in challenge. "You have insulted the honor of a dear friend. An honor that you, yourself, should've defended. I will not leave until I get an explanation for all of your strange actions tonight."
Aragorn stared at the blond man silently for what it seemed like hours before he looked away, sighing in defeat. He was very tired. He felt as if he was carrying the weight of the fated ring on his shoulders and his legs were about to crumble under the
heavy weight.
"Aragorn," he heard the other man say in a soft tone. "I can see clearly that you are burdened. Tell me, my friend. What's burdening you so?"
Releasing another sigh, the King of Gondor sat and opened his heart, for the first time in months, to his friend.
OoO. OoO. OoO.
Lord Mortardur took several deep breaths as he stared gloomily at the burning fire. The events that took place during the banquet had disturbed him greatly. The Consort's mysterious rush out of the dining room had caused a wave of murmurs among the lords
and ladies that hadn't stopped even after the banquet was over. Many wondered about the reasons that caused such scene to take place, and their wonder had risen tenfold when the king returned and dismissed everyone without any explanation.
Mortardur sighed deeply. While he didn't like the Consort and wished him to be gone, he still didn't want the relations between Gondor and Dol Amroth and Rohan suffer because of such insolence. He was sure that Shadow was behind what had happened
but he still couldn't fathom what sort of grip the silver-haired elf had on the Consort.
"My Lord?" the young lord felt his heart fell at his feet at the sudden voice. Looking up, he saw Shadow standing near the window.
"What are you doing here?" he asked anxiously as he stood up. "And what in the name of Aulë did you do back in the banquet?"
Shadow smirked widely in response. "It was a small play for my amusement. You don't have to worry yourself about it."
"I don't?!" the lord asked in annoyance. "Prince of Dol Amroth and Rohan's King has been insulted tonight and you tell me not to worry?"
"I don't think they'll take tonight's events to heart," the elf said carelessly. "After all, I understand that both of them are friends to both the king and the consort."
"When are you going to take the consort away?" the lord asked impatiently.
"Soon," the elf replied. "First, I need Legolas out of the castle if I am to kidnap him. It would be easy for me to snatch him and flee unnoticed if we were out of the city and in open fields."
"I can arrange for this to happen," said the lord. "Just give me one or two weeks' time."
"Very well," the elf answered before leaving.
OoO. OoO. OoO.
Mallorn stared in utter and complete shock at the three elves and wizard in front of him, unable to fully comprehend what Lord Glorfindel had just told him. The idea of a betrayal against his brother, one that caused him the life of his little innocent
daughter, was simply hard to absorb.
'Does Legolas know of all of this?' he found himself asking.
'No,' Elrond replied. 'At first, Aragorn felt that it would be best if Legolas didn't know that Míreth's life was in danger, hoping that she would survive. He didn't want to cause Legolas any worry. Then when Míreth died, Legolas fell into despair and—'
'And what?' Mallorn snapped heatedly, jerking up from his seat. 'Míreth was Legolas' daughter, yet your son hid such an important matter from him, just to conceal his own failure?!'
'Mallorn!' Thranduil yelled angrily.
'It's alright, Thranduil,' Rivendell's Lord said calmly. 'Mallorn is upset about his brother and niece.' He then looked at the young elf. 'Mallorn, Aragorn had done his best to ensure your brother and his child's safety. Alas, he wasn't successful… none
of us were.'
'How long have you known that, Adar?' the young elf looked at his father.
'I learned of it on the day of Míreth's funeral,' replied the blond king. 'It was already too late. I agreed to continue keeping this matter a secret from Legolas until we captured the villains, especially after seeing how desolate your brother is.'
Mallorn threw himself back on the chair, his body shaking out of pure ire. It wasn't only Aragorn who had failed his brother, it was him as well. He was supposedly here to protect his brother in this city of men; yet, he failed because of his carelessness.
He should've known something was amiss when Legolas gave birth prematurely. He should've sensed the danger that surrounded his brother and niece. But he didn't. He didn't see the lurking threat because of his irresponsible, selfish, petty self.
'Don't blame yourself, young Mallorn.' The prince was snapped from his thoughts as Gandalf's ancient hand was placed upon his shoulder. 'The truth is we all share the blame. We've taken the approval of Gondor's people on Aragorn and Legolas' marriage
for granted. We forgot that some might take desperate measures to destroy this marriage.'
'But now we have a lead to go on,' Glorfindel spoke. 'We have someone to suspect… Haldir's brothers. I'll take some of the elite guards and try to locate this mysterious elf.'
'Yes. If we find the elf responsible for poisoning Míreth's potions, then it will surely lead us to the rest of the conspirators,' Elrond concurred. 'Aragorn must be informed of this new development as well.'
'I will contact Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel by pigeons and ask them about Orophin and Rûmil's whereabouts,' Gandalf volunteered.
The rest nodded in agreement.
'I'll help you, Lord Glorfindel, in searching the city for that elf,' Mallorn said, determined. The lord nodded his agreement.
OoO. OoO. OoO.
Éomer took a deep breath as Aragorn concluded his narrations of the events that surrounded his marriage and his life with Legolas. It shocked him how much the pair had gone through in such short time; all the secrets that they had to hide from the rest
of the world, all the pain that surrounded them. Who would've known that the happiness that surrounded the two during their wedding ceremony was only the start of such agony?
He looked straight into Aragorn's eyes, clearly seeing the turmoil in their depths. Now he understood the magnitude of the burden that the man was carrying upon his shoulders.
"I'm sorry, Éomer," he heard Aragorn saying with a sad tone. "You're probably angry because I lied to you about the reasons behind my marriage and about Míreth's true parentage. You're probably feeling betrayed."
Éomer shook his head silently. He wasn't angry about them lying to him; after all, he too was a king and understood the way a court functioned, though it saddened him a little.
"I'm not angry," he said softly. "I understand. You have nobly kept your friend's honor and protected his child the best way you could."
"On the contrary," Aragorn said, looking away. "I've failed in protecting him and her. I've failed." The King of Gondor lowered his head in clear shame.
"You can't control everything around you, Aragorn," Éomer said soothingly. "What happened is beyond your power. The most important thing is that you've tried, even if you failed eventually. You must now concentrate on saving Legolas."
"I can't save him!" Aragorn stated heatedly, jerking his head up. "The only one who could've saved him is dead and buried in Helm's Deep."
"Do you really believe that?" Éomer asked calmly. It saddened him to see Aragorn, who was always confident and refined, so lost and helpless. It saddened him to see his friend so caught up in his self-guilt that he failed to see clearly what in front
of him. "Do you believe that Legolas is yearning for Haldir?"
"Haven't heard you a word from what I said?" Aragorn snapped.
"Yes, I have," the blond king replied. "But I also know that Legolas would never say that he loved you unless he meant it." At that Aragorn's eyes widened. "You told me that he said he was starting to fall for you the night his daughter was born. Do you
think that Legolas said this but didn't mean it?"
"No. Legolas wouldn't do that..." Aragorn replied, a little bit taken back. "But he never allowed us— I mean, our marital life—"
"The lack of physical affection doesn't mean that he didn't love you or that he wasn't starting to fall for you," Éomer replied. "You loved him in the shadows since you were 18, did your inability to bed him diminish your feelings?"
Aragorn shook his head.
"Aragorn, you know Legolas better than I do… you've known him far longer than I have. Surely you know that he wouldn't have raised your hopes when he didn't feel anything towards you."
"Yes." Was the only thing that Aragorn could utter. "But then why he's insisting on ending our marriage? Éomer, I feel daggers plunge into my heart very time he asks me to annul our marriage and allow him to go."
"He's grieving, my friend," Éomer said. "He's trying to find a way to decrease the pain invading his heart, just as you're doing now, trying to convince yourself that Legolas was only pining for Haldir and not grieving for the death of his daughter."
Aragorn stared silently at Éomer, not knowing what to say.
"You're grieving for the death of your daughter, my friend, you're grieving from failing to save her, and for Legolas' illness, and you're taking it out on the wrong person… Legolas himself." The King of Rohan held Aragorn by the shoulders firmly, bringing
them closer. "You have to stop languishing, Aragorn, and start taking actions. You have to save your husband and your marriage, because you're the only one who can do it!" With that, Éomer stood up and left.
Aragorn sat in silence for few moments, pondering on Éomer's words before standing up. He staggered to a nearby couch, feeling a pressing need to sleep.
Throwing himself on the velvet couch, the King of Gondor closed his eyes and drifted into a deep sleep.
OoO. OoO. OoO.
The sounds of birds chirping surrounded him and the bright light of the sun seemed to be filling the place. Opening his eyes, he found himself resting on a white fainting chair in a white spacious hall instead of his office. His eyes roamed the sun-lit place, trying to identify the familiar place.
Rivendell!
Aragorn quickly jumped to his feet as he recognized the hall as one of the places he used to spend many long hours.
'Estel!'
Turning around, he was surprised to see Arwen standing at the entrance of the hall. The Evenstar looked divine in her golden dress; her dark locks fell freely down, shaping her lovely face.
'Arwen,' the man whispered softly, feeling his body paralyzed at the sight of the elven maiden. '+Manen?'
The elleth walked towards him with graceful slow steps until she was in front of him. She ran a hand along his beardedcheek, softly tracing his jawline then his lips.
'Your sorrow has reached me in my heavenly exile. Tell me, why do you grieve, ++melmenya?' she asked.
The man looked deeply into her warm brown eyes before looking away in pain, unable to meet her kindly concern.
'Aren't you happy, Aragorn?' the elleth persisted.
'It seems that every time I grasp happiness, it seeps away through my fingers,' he whispered.
'Even though you are now with Legolas?'
Aragorn looked at Arwen a little bit surprised at the sad tone that colored the maiden's voice. However, his surprise lasted but a minute before it was turned into deep sadness.
'He's near me, yet so far away,' he said. 'I was foolish to think that I have a chance to gain his love.' He smiled sadly. 'Maybe I should've married you, after all.'
Arwen smiled sadly. 'You would've regretted it eventually.'
'I wouldn't be unhappy any more than I am now.'
'Would you?' the elleth asked, smiling sadly at the man she had loved so much, before leaning forward and kissing him softly on the lips. Pulling back, she looked deeply into his gray eyes. 'No, Aragorn, you would have, eventually.'
The man opened his mouth to say something but was silenced by a delicate finger on his lips.
'If we had married,' she said, 'Legolas would've eventually faded or sailed to the West. Either way, you would've regretted not giving yourself a chance with him.'
'He's fading, nevertheless, Arwen.'
'And what will you do about that, Aragorn?' Arwen asked. 'Will you watch helplessly as Legolas succumbs to grief and fades, or will you allow him out of your life, or will you fight for your right to hold him in your arms and love him like you've always wanted? What will you do, Estel?'
Suddenly the world around him was engulfed in total darkness.
Aragorn jerked from his sleep, drenched in cold sweat. He took several deep breaths, trying to tame the wild beats of his heart, before he lay back, staring at the ceiling with a strange glint in his stormy eyes.
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After he left Aragorn in his office, Éomer took a walk in the gardens, trying to collect his thoughts. It never crossed his mind that the situation in the White Castle could be so perilous. What he thought to be a mere spat had turned into a dangerous
situation that was threatening the lives of his friends. Éomer's heart clenched as he remembered a time when his own family was plagued with a traitorous serpent that almost ruined them. But at least their enemy was known to them, unlike Aragorn and
Legolas, who were fighting a hidden shadow.
The King of Rohan took several deep breaths. He knew what he had to do and he was determined to fulfil his duty towards his friends even if it cost him his own life.
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+ Manen (Q.): How
++ Melmenya (Q.): My love
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To be continued….
A/N: Please, Read and Review…