Title: Jewel of Mirkwood – Alternate Ending Author: Spider wallcrawler27@hotmail.com Pairing: Aragorn/Legolas Rating: PG-13 for implied NCS prior to the story Summary: Read Jewel of Mirkwood first, or you won’t get this. This is a continuation from a point just before the end, a different ending Disclaimer: Not mine! And I'm glad they aren't! Otherwise other people would be writing stories about them! Warning: Implied NCS prior to the story Authors Note: This is the second ending to Jewel of Mirkwood. Many people have asked for it, thank you for encouraging me to rewrite this so it meets the standards of JoM better. It starts up not at the end of JoM, but right when Legolas is captured by the men. Just a note, I did not write the poem in the beginning of the original JoM, my friend Hoshi did. That’s why I can safely say that it’s good. ^__^ Enjoy! Jewel of Mirkwood How it Should Have Ended <><><><><> “Cassiopeia…” he murmured, remembering when he showed that constellation to Aragorn. “My Hope will help me…” The men finally caught up to Legolas. The elf was unconscious on the forest floor, due to the amount of smoke he had inhaled. They grinned at each other as they scooped him up, then set out to leave this forest behind. A few returned to Tirios to gather up the men there, with the exception of Boromir and Aragorn. Legolas was carried away as his beloved forest burned to nothing behind him. <><><><><> Legolas stood and began to dance again for a new group of men. Every evening it was the same. He’d put on a show for a group, they would bid on him, and one would claim him for the night. The rest of the day was spent pleasing his master and recovering. With a sigh, he smiled slightly to himself. One day his Hope would come and sweep him away from this awful routine. Legolas finished the dance with a flourish, bowing before the men before moving to sit placidly at his master’s feet. With a wave of his hand, his master began the bidding. One hooded man approached his master, whispering in his ear. Legolas sighed as his master grinned. That greedy smile could only mean that the man offered a lot for Legolas, and a man who makes an enormous offer always has unscrupulous plans for the night. “Bidding’s off, lads! This nice young man here wins, offering more then double what you louts usually do! He gets the elf tonight!” Amid a torrent of boos and hisses, the hooded man caught Legolas’ arm and led him away. Once in the relative safety of a private room, the man pulled another cloak out from the worn bag he wore on his back and handed it to Legolas. “Wrap this around you, and be quick about it. You will obey me to the letter, your life and mine may depend on it.” Legolas nodded. He was used to being ordered around, but not with such urgency. No sooner had he wrapped the cloak around his shoulders had the man grabbed him and pushed him out the window. Legolas barely had time to recover before the man had jumped out beside him and was dragging him away. “Come on!” he hissed. “Run!” Legolas ran. This man was offering him a chance at freedom. One lone human could be easily overpowered by an elf. If the human was truly setting him free, all was well and good and he could start searching for Aragorn. If the human was just stealing him away for personal gain, that wouldn’t be that bad either. Legolas wrapped the cloak around him tighter and laughed softly. Freedom felt good! “In here!” The man ducked into a cave. Legolas followed warily. If the man had friends, this might be where they were staying. Sure enough, another figure sat by a lone fire. Legolas scanned the cave for other beings but breathed a sigh of relief when he saw no others. Two men would be a bit more difficult to flee from then one, but still possible. “Did you find any help?” The man by the fire spoke, poking at the logs with a stick. Stepping closer, Legolas noticed that the man had his leg stretched out and wrapped in what looked to be a dirty blanket. The other man saw the direction of Legolas’ gaze and laughed. “Clumsy Aragorn, fell off his horse and broke his leg! To make matters worse, the horses bolted as soon as we were off them! I say it was his face that did it.” “Boromir! You don’t have to degrade me in front of a stranger!” “Oh, I think he knows you well enough to see that I speak only the truth.” Boromir laughed again. “That is, of course, if you are Legolas.” Legolas pulled the cloak off and nodded, barely restraining himself from jumping into Aragorn’s arms. Aragorn, upon hearing the name Legolas and seeing the elf reveal himself, tried to stand up unsuccessfully. Cursing at his bad leg, he stretched out his arms to Legolas. “Come to me, please! I need to feel you to be certain I am not dreaming again!” Now Legolas threw himself into Aragorn’s arms, laughing and sobbing at the same time. “It’s me, it’s me,” he managed to choke out. “Oh Aragorn, Estel, melamin . . .” Aragorn silenced his string of endearments with a kiss. Boromir shook his head in defeat. “I’ll leave, let you two go at it like rabbits again, just like the old days. Just keep it down a bit, okay? That bastard who was holding Legolas as a slave will probably start searching for him soon, as soon as he notices his absence. I’ll keep watch outside, but I won’t be much use if he comes after us with a hoard of fat, angry guys trying to get Legolas back.” As Boromir exited the cave, Aragorn pulled Legolas away from him slightly, to look into his eyes. “Slave? Fat angry guys? Legolas, what has happened to you these past years?” Legolas kissed Aragorn again, murmuring against his lips, “It’s a long story, but rest assured, it has a happy ending.” Now that he was being held by Aragorn once again, Legolas knew that to be true. His Hope had returned to him.