Shadow of the Forest

Part 13

Posted: November 2003
Author: Estella Greenleaf

*****

Chapter 13: Light and Shadow

The company had been on the road for five days. Though they had not been attacked yet, all was not well among them. The two Men had developed a bitter rivalry; Gimli's constant insults of the Elves was beginning to test Aragorn's patience, the Hobbits were always complaining that they are tired or hungry and worse of all, the Elf and Isildur's heir had been avoiding each other at all cost.

Boromir was jealous because Legolas favored the other Man and was further enraged that Aragorn seemed to not notice the Elf's affections. As a result, he challenged the Ranger's decision every single chance he had. Aragorn, accustomed to assuming a leadership role, found Boromir's attitude insulting; though he was not a particularly proud Man, he would not have every one of his requests rebuked. Throughout their journey, those two wore expressions that reminded Gandalf of volcanoes about to erupt. The Wizard was becoming worried that a fight would soon break out between them.

The Elf had chosen to give the entire Fellowship the silent treatment. He had spoken less than ten words since they set off from Rivendell, carrying out whatever tasks that were assigned to him alone. Gandalf knew from experience that Legolas could charm any being he set his mind to. The first lord of Moria was so enamored with the Golden Prince that he commanded the Dwarf smiths to use their first harvest of mithril to design a special suit of armor for the Elf to wear underneath his usual garb.

Getting along with Gimli would have been easy for the Elven Prince, if he would just acknowledge the Dwarf. Gimli saw the Elf's silence as a slight and began to heap insults on all Elves. While the Star of Earendil had infinite patience, Aragorn who was raised in the House of Elrond did not. On more than one occasion, Gandalf had noticed the Man's hand tightly gripping the hilt of Anduril after one of Gimli's more crude comments.

Gandalf knew that if Legolas and Aragorn were bound as one, all these problems would vanish. Both of these were natural born leaders, if their minds were on the task, it would be easy to settle the differences within the Fellowship. But with those two being tense and on edge, the Istari found the job of keeping the Company together on his shoulders; a burden that he knew he could not bear alone for long.

*****

The company reached the edge of the forest of Imladris. As Gandalf did not wish to rest at the foot of the Misty Mountains, where he knew was a hideout for creatures of darkness, he decided to stop for camp early within the woods.

"Legolas and Aragorn, please go gather some firewood. Boromir, please go to the stream and get some water," said the wizard.

The Elven Prince raised an elegant eyebrow at the old Istari but said nothing as he rose. However, Aragorn, who was equally opposed to the idea of being alone with the Elf, was not giving in without a fight. "I do not think it wise to have three of our warriors leave camp at the same time, Gandalf."

"We are still in Imladris, Aragorn, we will be fine. Besides, gathering wood should not take that long," replied Gandalf, with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Aragorn recognized that light in the Wizard's eyes and scowled as he walked to join the Elf at the edge of camp.

The Man had lagged behind in his thoughts. When he looked up, he found Legolas waiting for him, standing on a large root of a tree. The Elf was truly breathtaking. His green jerkin, silver shirt and dark green leggings fit him perfectly, showcasing his lean athletic body. Silhouetted against the twilight, a halo of golden light surrounded his graceful form. Long silken blond hair flowed gently against the wind, framing the delicate yet male face. Gorgeous azure eyes regarded him with a quizzical expression as Aragorn felt himself drawn towards the Elf with longing and desire rising in his loins. Even as he told himself to leave Legolas be, he closed the distance between them with a few long strides until he stood face to face with the object of his desire.

*****

Legolas watched in alarm as the Man approached, stopping close enough for them to touch. Aragorn proceeded to regard him with such a smoldering gaze that the Elf was glad that his knees did not give way.

The Prince had respected Aragorn's wishes and kept his distance, despite his love for the Man. It was the most difficult thing that he ever had to do, to stay away knowing Aragorn loved him back; and it had taken every ounce of his self-control and concentration to do so. He had noticed things were not going well within the company. He wished he could help Gandalf maintain peace, but since most of the strife involved the Ranger, his hands were tied.

"Well, we should hurry. I mean, you are right that we shouldn't leave them alone at camp with so little protection," said Legolas as he gulped, nervous about Aragorn's proximity. Suddenly, his lips felt very dry and he just had to lick it.

Aragorn found the movement of the Elf's tongue irresistibly seductive; and without thought, he started to lean forward to kiss Legolas. He caught himself just in time before their lips met. The lies had worked in driving Legolas away, but it did not change his own feelings on the issue. He had to warn the Elf so Legolas could be on his guard in case he lost control again as he did the afternoon after the Council of Elrond.

"Legolas, you are the most beautiful person I have ever laid eyes on. I am attracted to you, which as you probably know is a very serious understatement. But I know that the attraction is entirely because you remind me of Shadow, my mentor whom I love with my entire heart. You deserve so much better than this… than me," said a flustered Aragorn, all in one breath. It was the first time in years the Man had appeared so un-composed in front of another.

Legolas stared agape at the Man, trying very hard to keep his emotions under control. Aragorn had made it clear that he would marry Arwen after the Quest; that love had no place in this political decision. This confession served no other purpose except making life more difficult for the Elf. He would hate Estel if he could; but he loved the Man too much to do so. "Why are you doing this, Aragorn? It's not as if how you or I feel really matters. You are going to marry Arwen when it's over. You made yourself very clear in Rivendell."

While the Man did not want to admit lying to the Elf earlier, he needed Legolas to be aware of his predicaments. He cared about the Prince too much to risk his safety, even if the Elf were to hate him after this full confession. "I lied about Arwen. I did it to push you away. My heart belongs to Shadow; and when I am with you, all I do is think of him. It's not fair to you."

"Aragorn…" whispered the Elf as he reached out for his beloved. He was not angry at all with the Man for lying. How could he be now that his dreams were restored?

Stepping away from the Prince's touch, Aragorn shook his head and continued, "No, please let me finish. I thought that if I push you away, everything would be fine. But it's not, because I still want you, so much so that I scare myself. I need you to know my true feelings so you can be on your guard when you are alone with me. I would rather die than hurt you but I am afraid that I might not be able to control myself, especially if the Ring were to exploit my desires."

The Golden Elf cursed himself for not seeing through Aragorn's lies earlier. He could have saved himself and his beloved a lot of heartbreak. But before he could explain everything, his keen ears discerned trampling footsteps approaching them, fast. "Yrchs," he whispered in disgust.

Aragorn was about to beg for forgiveness for the lies he told in Rivendell when he heard the Elf's whisper. In a flash, he drew Anduril and prepared to fight. But his friend had other ideas.

"Go back to camp and gather the others. Make a run for the grasslands across the river. I will distract them and rejoin you later."

"I will not leave you here," said Aragorn as he looked into the direction of the approaching Orcs. He could hear them now, though they were still out of sight. There were too many for Legolas to fight alone.

"The camp does not know of the approaching danger. If the Orcs attacks them, all will be lost."

Aragorn was torn between leaving the beautiful Elf and warning the others. He knew Legolas was right that someone must return to camp and protect the Hobbits. But he also knew first hand what Orcs did to their captives; he could not bear the thought of their cruel hands upon the Golden Elf. As he hesitated, he saw his friend drew his bow and started shooting into the foliage. "Aragorn, go!!"

The Man loathed what he must do, but he did as Legolas instructed. He rushed back into camp and ushered the frightened Hobbits into running towards the river. Aragorn could hear the battle cries of the Orcs from a distance, but was surprised to find that none followed them. They crossed the river without any encounters with the foul creatures.

Once Aragorn was sure the Ringbearer was safe, he started to run back towards their previous camp. He had not gone ten steps when a strong, wizened hand held him back firmly. "We are not out of danger yet. Orcs reside in the caves at the foot of the mountain. We will need your strength if they should discover us and attack."

"But, Legolas..." Aragorn began to argue.

The wizard laughed, "Don't worry about our little prince, Aragorn. He can take care of himself, better than anyone of us here can, I daresay."

*****

Legolas was slightly disappointed that there were only less than forty Orcs approaching him. He was more than a little upset that they disrupted his conversation with Aragorn. Two bad qualities from his life as Shadow had remained with him, a violent tendency towards creatures of darkness and a vengeful temper against things that tried to hurt Estel. He was looking forward to a good fight with these unsuspecting Orcs to vent his pent-up frustration for the past few days.

The Elf ran slowly in the opposite direction as Aragorn, allowing the Orcs to follow within his arrow range. As light from the sun was still visible from the skies, Legolas knew the Orc archers could not aim properly at him. They must be very desperate to attack this early, before complete darkness. He paced himself so that he kept the foul creatures at a distance of about 40 yards behind him, turning occasionally to fire an arrow at an enemy archer. It was like target practice for the Elf, giving a swift merciful death to those he chose to bestow his arrows through the heart.

When the Prince finally emptied his quiver, he had cut the size of his pursuers to seventeen. He stopped at a small clearing to wait for his prey. All of the creatures charged him together. Legolas almost laughed as he watched the seventeen large bulky Orcs tried to reach him at the same time. The enemy might have a large advantage in numbers, but they were definitely not too bright. In the attempt to reach their small target all at once with large swords, they were getting into each other's way; a few collided into another and two accidentally hit someone else as they drew their weapons.

Only six managed to crowd in front of Legolas, but because of the lack of maneuvering room, they were all forced to use overhead strikes or thrust attacks. The Elf easily ducked to dodge their blows and drew his twin knives, slashing all six in the abdomen in the same motion. Legolas rolled forward so the dead Orcs would not fall onto him and moved onto his next set of targets with Elven speed and grace. Within three minutes, the Elf had dispatched of all the remaining foul creatures and started to retrace his steps to fetch his arrows.

*****

An hour later, a very clean and happy Legolas returned to join the rest of the Fellowship. It was clear to his companions that he went bathing in the river. Not that anyone was complaining for the Elf smelled so sweet, a unique blend of orchids, honey and pines. Even Gimli stopped polishing his axe and stared at the golden beauty for a while when he returned to camp. The Elf, having noticed the Dwarf's expression, bestowed his most charming smile on the already bewitched Gimli. It was several long moments before the said creature was able to break out of the Elf's spell, shaking his head at himself and muttering, "Crazy Elves and their soap." Having heard the low whisper, Legolas let out a peal of soft melodic laughter, which once again enchanted the entire Company.

Aragorn was angry with Legolas for taking so long and making him worry. But at the strong fragrance of Shadow's soap, the Man could not found the words. He could feel the air heat up around him as his mentor's lilting merry laughter reached his ears.

But even as he screamed the words in his head, he could only continue to stare helplessly at the Elf as he walked into camp to join the Hobbits across from him. Feeling the intense gaze of his love upon him, Legolas could not suppress a smile as he knew his plan was working.

Flashback:

During his walk back to camp, the Elf had some time to clear his mind to ponder his next move. He knew now that the problems he had with Aragorn would be solved when the Man realized Legolas and Shadow were one and the same. The question became how to convince his beloved without drawing the attention of the entire Fellowship. He much preferred to settle this alone with Aragorn before telling the others.

Legolas could try to ask for a private conversation with the Man; but Aragorn would most likely refuse in an attempt to avoid him. He could ask Gandalf to create an opportunity for them, much like the one earlier, but he knew the Wizard could not justify sending two of their warriors away on a mission after today's Orc attack. Then, there was the fact that the Man could be very stubborn and blind at times. Aragorn would probably not believe him if he just told the truth. He was wrecking his brain trying to think of a solution when it dawned on him. Smiling mischievously, Legolas headed towards the river....

________________________________________________________________________

It was as if the Orcs knew of his plans and decided to give him a hand. They attacked the camp again that very night. Legolas sensed their presence and warned the others to prepare for battle. As he watched the poor Hobbits scrambled to pull their swords out of the scabbards, the Elf could not help a pang of guilt for scaring them so. The band attacking them was only about twenty strong; Legolas would normally have taken off and dealt with them privately, without alerting the others. But he needed Aragorn to see him fight, which would not happen unless the whole company stood their ground together.

"Stay close to Gandalf, little ones. Nothing bad is going to happen, you'll see," Legolas said in an attempt to console the frightened Hobbits.

At his suggestions, the Halfings immediately began to crowd Gandalf, who raised an eyebrow and shook his head at Legolas in exasperation. The Istari knew that the Golden Prince planned to convince Aragorn with subtle clues that he was Shadow; but he did not expect the Elf would see an Orc attack as one of his opportunities to hint at the Man!!

The Elf smiled back innocently and drew his sword, which made Gandalf frown yet again. With heightened senses, the Prince should be able to see their enemies by now and would normally have started firing deadly arrows at them. Instead, Legolas was opting for close range combat, with a sword instead of his enchanted knives no less. But since the Istari knew Legolas would never knowingly endanger anyone in their company, he decided that the Star of Earendil must have the situation under control. He would simply relax and enjoy the show.

*****

The warriors formed a protective circle around Gandalf and the Hobbits. Aragorn knew he was facing the direction of the Orcs' charge. As he saw the first wave approached them, the Man moved forward to meet the creatures, swinging Anduril in a deadly arc. He was surprised to find that Legolas had immediately filled the gap behind him, covering his back should any Orc tried to attack him from behind. Aragorn spun left to avoid an Orc blade, bringing his sword up as he turned to strike another one on his left. Once again, the Elf had shifted in phase with him, killing the creature that originally attacked him. As the battle grew more intense, Aragorn was no longer thinking; he fought on instinct, in tandem with Legolas, just as he had done so many times before with Shadow. As the last of the Orcs lay dead around them, he was grateful to see that none of the creatures had got past them and reached the Hobbits.

The Halfings rushed forward in excitement and hugged them. When they finally released them, Merry looked up at them in awe and asked, "How did you guys do that? The way you two move in perfect unison made it look as if you were dancing. Did you two know each other all your lives or something?"

To that, Legolas gave only a coy smile and walked off. Aragorn had no answer either and could only stare after the Elf, asking himself the same question.

Those questions plagued Aragorn's mind and he found he could not find any rest that night. He did not mind at all that Gandalf had given him the second watch, which was the hardest of the three watches. Since he could not sleep anyway, he did not wake Legolas for the last watch. He continued to gaze into a distance as his mind raced through the possible explanations to the riddles of Legolas' identity. He was startled when he heard the Elf's voice beside him.

"Why didn't you wake me for my watch?" inquired Legolas softly.

"I cannot sleep anyway, so I thought to let you rest more. You did lead an Orc band away from us all by yourself today," Aragorn answered warily. He was very confused and in this state, he did not trust his own reactions to the Elf.

The Elf laughed softly; again, it was the same as Shadow's melodic musical laughter, causing the Man to stare at Legolas. Before Aragorn could say anything more, the Elf offered with his most enchanting smile, "Perhaps you would like me to sing you to sleep. Why don't you just lay down here?"

Aragorn found himself unable to resist the Elf's offer. He brought his bedroll beside the Prince and lay down. Legolas knelt by his head and began to sing softly as he stroke the Man's hair.

// Let me be your shelter, let me be your light. You're safe: No-one will find you - your fears are far behind you... All I want is freedom, a world with no more night... and you, always beside me, to hold me and to hide me... //

Aragorn froze at the Elf's voice and touch. There was no mistaking it, Legolas had to be Shadow.

// Then say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime... let me lead you from your solitude.... Say you need me with you here, beside you... anywhere you go, let me go too.... //

The song halted abruptly as the Elf found his lips consumed in a fiery kiss. Aragorn had recovered from his shock and was now holding onto Legolas tightly, afraid that this was all a dream. They kissed until they were both breathless. Even as Aragorn pulled back to look at his beloved Elf, his hold on Legolas' waist remained strong. The Man was about to demand some answers when the Prince spoke.

"Would you bind yourself to me, Estel?" asked Legolas hopefully. His courage and conviction seemed to have fled him at the last minute and doubts began to surface, leaving the Elf in painful anticipation for Aragorn's answer.

Aragorn stared speechless at the one he loved. He no longer cared how it was possible that Shadow was alive and had become Legolas. When he saw the same unconditional love and faith in the Elf's eyes, he was just grateful for the gift he had been given. He inhaled deeply before answering, "No, I will not, my Golden Elf."

Before Legolas could shift his expression from one of hope to despair, Aragorn continued, "But I would like very much for you to bind yourself to me."

Legolas glared at the Man, realizing that Aragorn had just played a trick on him in a very serious matter. The unrepentant Man started laughing and said, "Well, I suppose we are even for all the times you tricked me, Shadow."

Legolas did not know how he could love Aragorn so much and be as furious as he was at the Man at the same time. He tried to shove at the Man, who easily captured his hands and dragged him closer. As steel-grey eyes met azure ones, both brimming with love and longing, all anger and pain was forgotten as they moved closer for a kiss.

Since the invention of the kiss, there have been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind.

*****

Final line is taken from Princess Bride, another one of my movie obsessions.

Song is All I Ask of You from Phantom, thought it would be nice to put it here as the final song =)

*****

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