Disbelief shone in Aragorn's eyes, for never would he have thought he would hear such words from his friend.
"Legolas, you cannot be serious. It is only the medicines speaking. Rest, things will look better once you've slept."
Eyes as deep as the ocean peered back at him, "I've slept more in the past few days than I have in the past year. Never have things looked clearer, this is the only choice."
"Legolas, please."
"No." Legolas said, silencing Aragorn. The man never heard his quiet elven friend speak with that much force. "Aragorn, I will not see my people destroyed because of pride. I have learned in this incident that there is much more important things in this world. There is a whole other realm waiting for my people, I must lead them there."
The finality in that statement left no room for argument.
"I'm afraid the end has come to the Elves of Northern Mirkwood."
Aragorn could only look down in quiet sentiment of all that had just passed into myth and memory.
A fog was all that could be seen. Thick and dark, there was naught that could pierce it. Yet, through it all came a commanding voice calling out from beyond.
"Fear not, child. Awaken."
Trying to reach for that far and away, heavy eyelids raised and allowed precious sight to bring understanding to the world.
"Good, very good. Look at me, Arwen."
Finally, the gentle tones of Mithrandir were welcomed and his friendly eyes brought her joy.
"You gave me quite a scare there for a while. I feared the worst, but you have begun recovering nicely. Shortly, the spell will be no more."
She sat up on her elbows, "The spell is fading?"
A hearty laughter filled the room, "Of course, you are overcoming your illness. As you do, the spell becomes obsolete and will fade away until it is no more."
"Legolas?"
"He will be whole and completely restored again shortly. Never fear, young one."
She smiled tiredly, "You are the only one who called me that."
"We are all young, Arwen, we all have elders."
They sat together in silence, for no more words were needed.
"Prepare the people, we will depart from Mirkwood as soon as we have everything we need for the journey."
"Yes, my Liege." A small Elf ran off to the kitchens to alert the staff of their needs. Legolas walked with a quick pace to the large meeting halls where the counsel representing the people was currently meeting. They had been informed of Legolas' decision and their new King currently went to discuss their plans and thoughts about the upcoming trials.
The room he entered was massive, displaying parts of the rock face the palace was built on. Murals showed great battles the Wood-elves had fought in over the millennia, now I was all to be left the time and for the forest to reclaim.
The rose when he entered, each Elf there being noble and wise beyond any mortal on Middle Earth.
Bowing to show his undying respect, Legolas addressed them, "Do we have a plan for the fastest way without being seen by our enemies?"
"No."
Turning, he was Turion standing there, in full armor.
"Turion? Why are you here?"
"As captain of the army, the counsel thought it best that I speak to you on their behalf in this matter."
Legolas shook his head, "I do not understand."
"Yes, you do Legolas. You would not be the son of Thranduil if you did not." Cundur, advisor to Oropher and Thranduil stood firm. "Legolas, little one, things may be desperate, but we will overcome."
"How?"
Turion stepped forward, "You shall lead us against them."
Pausing, Legolas gave the concept serious thought. "They number so many, they are so near and we are so few."
"We will not sacrifice our home and everything we have fought and died for over the course of time." Smiling slightly, the captain continued, "We will fight bravely and without regret for our decisions, we will follow you and give darkness a reason to leave these woods and never return."
Looking around the room, the Elvenking saw that all assembled there stood together. Memories flooded back to him, of his father standing in front of his troops before a battle many years ago.
'Let the enemy never see our backs. Remember that we, in the end, are fighting for each other!'
Behind him, dancing in the wind, stood a willow tree.
Closing his eyes, that image burned into his mind, Legolas knew what he must do.
"We will fight."
Site Info
We are the home of 1292 authors from among our 2553 members. There have been 2904 reviews written about our 3820 stories consisting of 10734 chapters and 29400445 words. A special welcome to our newest member, Lerina.Categories
Skin Change
Donate
Help us keep one of the oldest running LotR archives available to all. Even the smallest donation helps!
Many thanks to our previous donors!
Many thanks to our previous donors!
