At the feast, neither Legolas nor Aragorn was very lively. They ate their food in a glum silence while many of the elves were laughing and drinking merrily. King Thranduil seemed pleased to meet Aragorn, but he couldn't figure out why the man barely said a word all evening.
"How do you feel about discovering that you are the lost king of Gondor?" Thranduil asked, encouraging conversation.
"Happy, I guess." Aragorn said, stirring his food around with his fork.
The elder elf king sighed at the discontentment of his failed effort for conversation. He turned to Legolas and asked, "What about you? What do you think about it?"
"I am happy for him," replied Legolas dully, "I am sure he will make a truly honorable and remarkable king."
"Ah, Gondor needs a powerful king. For the walls of Minas Tirith will soon crumble and fall if not for the support and encouragement of a strong leader," added King Thranduil, but even that just caused Legolas and Aragorn to nod silently.
Giving up his effort, Thranduil poured himself a large glass of wine and downed it all in one gulp, hoping to make the night end quicker...
Aragorn couldn't stand it any longer. It was bad enough that almost every elf in the forest of Mirkwood was drunk and the noise and laughter just kept pounding on his head, but now there was now an invisible barrier between him and Legolas.
He had to leave tonight. Maybe, if it was possible, he could start over. Forget Legolas and find someone else. He knew that is would be almost impossible...but he could always try...Legolas seemed to not care about him...and he didn't think he could stand the awkward silences between them any longer.
Before, when they were friends, there were pauses in their conversations, but they were just that. A moment in time when no words were spoken out loud. But now, silences were gaps that ripped even bigger holes in his broken heart. They were pauses that suggested there were words wanting to be said, but those words never formed. These awkward silences suggested that they had no longer anything to say to each other and implied that they were uncomfortable in each other's presence.
Aragorn hated that. He hated that he and Legolas weren't together. For he would have given up everything he had in the world just to know that Legolas loved him back. But for some reason he knew that wasn't going to happen. They were separated now, and he didn't think there was anything that could draw them back together.
Legolas knew this wasn't a good idea. For one, he hated it. He hated the thought of waking up in the morning to an empty bed. He knew now that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Aragorn, to always wake up in the man's arms, and always turn to him when he was hurt.
But Aragorn didn't love him back. It was apparent to Legolas now. True, the man was sad about them parting, but that didn't mean love...
The main reason why Legolas was so worried about them parting was he knew it would break his heart. And the only other way for elves to die, other than being slain in battle, is if their heart was broken.
On one hand, Legolas was afraid of dying. He didn't particularly care though, on the other hand, for no life at all seemed like a better option to him than a life where Aragorn didn't love him back.
He wondered if Aragorn knew what he was doing to him. They had become so distant in the last couple hours that Legolas could already feel his heart being torn to shreds. They hadn't said much to each other and even when they did talk, they had nothing to say. He was beginning to think Aragorn should just leave now and get his death over with before it was drawn out any longer.
Aragorn was ready to go within the hour. A lot of the elves were too drunk to do anything except pass out, including Maltalas and Thranduil. Only Legolas came to say goodbye to Aragorn.
"Farewell mellonamin, aa' lasser en lle coia orn n' omenta gurtha," bid Legolas politely.
"Goodbye, Legolas, aa' menealla nauva calen ar' malta," Aragorn replied, wishing he could say something more personal.
"Namaarie." Legolas waved as Aragorn kicked the sides of his horse and they rode away into the moonlight. This time tears fell from both of their faces. As Legolas watched Aragorn ride away, he felt the last shards of his heart being blasted to pieces as his legs buckled beneath him and he fell to the ground.
When Legolas awoke, he was lying in his bed. He found this odd, for the last thing he remembered was telling Aragorn goodbye...Legolas tried to sit up, but when he thought of Aragorn, his body became as heavy as lead and he fell silently back onto the bed.
He tried to sit up again, but he found moving any part of his body, save his eyes, was tremendously hard. Each of his limbs felt impossibly heavy and he knew he wasn't strong enough to lift them. Wondering what was happening to him, he called out loudly, "Father!!"
A few seconds later, King Thranduil opened the door and stepped inside. "Oh, good! You're awake!" he said, "I was worried about you; you were out for three days!"
"I was?" asked Legolas, truly puzzled.
"Yes, you gave us quite a scare! At first we thought it was just from wine, but then you still didn't wake up...but that's besides the point...how are you feeling now?" his father asked with concern.
"Not good, I can't move any of my limbs! They are all too heavy!" whined Legolas.
King Thranduil just sat down in a chair and slumped in shock.
"I was afraid of this." he mumbled to himself.
"What is it?" asked Legolas "What's wrong with me?"
"I'm not sure." King Thranduil said, but his voice suggested that he was lying.
"You know what it is, Father! Please tell me!" begged Legolas nervously.
"You have a broken heart." was the barely audible mumble that came from Thranduil's lips.
"What?" asked Legolas, "How do you know?"
"It usually starts like this, your limbs are too heavy to move. And you stay that way, unmoving for days, until...you die.." his father mumbled.
Suddenly anger flashed across his face, "What happened?" he asked Legolas, "Who did you let break your heart?"
"It doesn't matter." said Legolas, the care gone from his voice.
"YES IT DOES!!" screamed Thranduil, "There might be a way to save you still!"
"I don't want to live," said Legolas stubbornly.
Thranduil leaned over the side of his son's bed, tears shimmering in his eyes. "Don't say that! Don't give up yet!" he whispered, "Now tell me what happened! Why you gave up?"
"I love someone," Legolas mumbled "And now I shall never see them again because they do not love me back."
"How do you know that?" asked Thranduil.
Legolas snapped, "I just do, okay? Can we stop talking about it already?"
"Fine," was Thranduil's sharp reply, "Where is Aragorn? Did he leave already?"
"Yes," replied Legolas, his voice bitter and biting.
"I see," said King Thranduil slowly.
Legolas tried to jerk his head to face his father's, but his attempt was unsuccessful. "What are you talking about?" he asked.
"There is still hope for you," replied Thranduil and with that he got up and went out of the room.
Legolas lay in bed a long time pondering his father's words and wondering if there truly was hope for him after all...
Aragorn rode away from Mirkwood in a slow and regretful manner. He didn't have anywhere particular to go, other then home to Rivendell. But he didn't want to go there, for he knew it would be cold and lonely without Legolas's bright face.
In the forests of Mirkwood, he was at least somewhat happy. He loved the woods and could walk through them for hours, just admiring the trees. He knew that this was more of an elf behavior than a human one, but he had been raised by elves and he almost felt like one himself most of the time.
Also, since the woods were so close to Legolas's home, he could almost picture the beautiful blonde elf walking here, singing softly to himself. But three days went by since Aragorn left and he had not seen another person that whole time.
He had stopped to rest and get a drink of water at a small creek when he heard the sound of hooves pounding into the dirt. Startled, he stood up and watched the woods where the sound was coming from. A few minutes past, and then a horse and rider appeared through the trees.
Aragorn walked over to his horse and mounted it, preparing to run if the rider threatened him. But then the rider drew closer and Aragorn could see they wore the grays and mossy greens of a Sylvan elf. His heart leapt in his throat, hoping the rider was Legolas.
"Aragorn!" the rider called in a voice that defiantly wasn't Legolas's.
"King Thranduil!" Aragorn replied, "What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you!" the king shouted as he pulled his horse up next to Aragorn's. "Good thing you hadn't gotten very far!"
"I don't understand. Why are you looking for me?" asked Aragorn.
"It's Legolas." the elder king began.
Aragorn's eyes grew big, "Is there something wrong?"
"Yes, he is dying," Thranduil answered, "Of a broken heart."
"What???" asked Aragorn, emotion running wild through out him, "Is there anything we can do to save him??? Why is he dying???"
"I'm not sure if I'm the best one to tell you this..." replied the elf king, "But he loves you."
Aragorn suddenly felt he had grown wings. His heavy heart was no longer a chain holding him down, now he felt weightless, like he could float up into the sky and never come down. "He loves me?" Aragorn wondered aloud, still in amazement.
"Yes, he does. We can save him, if you come with me. But it will only work if you love him back." King Thranduil stared at Aragorn, his eyes pouring into the depths of Aragorn's soul. "I am asking you now, and you had better reply honestly. Do you love my son?"
"Yes," was all Aragorn said, too dazed to say anything more, "Yes, I do."
Thranduil smiled, "Hurry up then, we don't have much time."
The ride seemed to take forever for Aragorn. Legolas loved him. And he loved Legolas. And they could finally be together. He couldn't wait.
But one thing was troubling him. How did Thranduil know Legolas loved him? Did Legolas tell his father? Aragorn decided to ask.
"How did you know Legolas loves me?" Aragorn asked, feeling a little childish for doing so.
"I figured it out." King Thranduil replied, "He said he was in love with someone who he was never going to see again. I figured out that someone was you because of the way he talks about you. Legolas has told me more good things about you than you can possibly imagine. I had a feeling it was love ever since he returned from his time in Rivendell with you."
Aragorn blushed, "And you are okay with it? With us?"
"Are you implying that I would be against it since you are both males?" Thranduil asked, raising one eyebrow.
Aragorn ducked his head down, "Maybe."
"Then I will have you know, that it doesn't bother me one bit. As long as you love Legolas and never hurt him, I am happy with whatever you are."
"Then Legolas and I can...ummm...uhhhh...well...uhhhh...be together?" Estel asked, blushing at what he was implying.
Thranduil smirked, "Just as soon as we get there."
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