The Light Of The Green Wood

The Light Of The Green Wood

Posted: November 18, 2005
Title: The Light of the Green Wood
Author: LadyHawksShadow
Type: FCS
Characters: Aragorn/Legolas
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: These characters are not mine. The story is fiction.
Timeline: AU
Warnings: implied m/m slash, pure sap
Beta: Larian Elensar
Author's Notes: Don't any one faint. Inspired by the movie scene where Aragorn finally returns to Helms Deep and retrieves his pendant. That scene has always just screamed Aragorn/Legolas. Here's the way I think it started.

Summary: Legolas gives Aragorn a present before departing on the quest.

*~*

Aragorn lay the book he was reading on the ground beside his couch and turned his head to watch the water play over the stones of the fountain. His heart felt heavy with indecision. He'd promised to look after Frodo and the ring, and he would fulfill that vow even unto his death. What had shocked him was Legolas' insistence that he, the elf prince, join the quest. Although Lord Elrond declared that the quest was the responsibility of all the races of Middle-earth, Aragorn would have rather the prince of Mirkwood not volunteered.

"There you are," the calm voice echoed the melody of the waterfall.

"I have been thinking of you and here you are," Aragorn smiled. The joke, such as it was, had grown quite old between them, and yet, neither seemed to ever grow tired of it.

"As if in a dream," Legolas sat beside Aragorn on the couch. "You are not happy that I have chosen to come on the quest."

Aragorn shook his head and his eyebrows drew low in a slight frown. "I do not doubt the strength of your bow," he began,

"Nor should you," there was a touch of arrogance to Legolas' voice. "My bow is strong and will serve the quest well."

"I know, Legolas," Aragorn sighed and swung his legs over the edge of the lounge. Sitting up, he placed his hands on his knees and turned to look over his shoulder at the elf. "I would know that you were safe in the Greenwood, my prince, and not dashing off on a fool's errand."

"So you believe the quest will fail?"

"How can it succeed?" Again, Aragorn shook his head. "Pay me no heed, Legolas. My mood is dark."

"I can see that," the elf placed soothing hands on Aragorn's back and rubbed his tense shoulders. "It is the fear you have always felt. You fear that the curse of Isildur haunts your steps and that your future is forever as a wanderer."

"That is part of it. You heard Lord Boromir. Gondor has had no king for many an age and she survives still. Who am I to claim the throne my ancestors thought so little of?"

"Not all those who wander are lost," Legolas quoted the prophesy. "The crownless again shall be king."

"Is it really me, Legolas? Am I really the crownless? Was I meant to be king?" He answered his own question in the next breath. "I do not know."

A sly smile played on the corners of Legolas' mouth and his eyes darted sideways even as his hands slid inside his tunic. He withdrew his long fingers and a thin, mithril chain slithered from his fingers and rested against Aragorn's shoulders.

With a startled look, Aragorn shook his head. "You cannot..."

"Can I not?"

"You are the Prince of Mirkwood, Legolas. You cannot give your heart to a mere Ranger. A mere mortal."

"I do not give my heart to a mere anything. I give my heart to a king." His fingers brushed Aragorn's nape as he slipped the chain bearing the image of a bright silver star over the bent head. His lips touched a tender spot behind Aragorn's ear and the man shivered. "I crown thee king of my heart."

Aragorn's fingers touched the medallion, as if expecting it to evaporate. "Am I dreaming?"

"No, my lord," Legolas' voice was a mere breath on the breath of the wind and his lips touched Aragorn's warm skin as he spoke. "I will share the quest with you, Aragorn, and face the hardships at your side. Should the quest fail or succeed, you and I will be together."

"I am mortal, you are elfkind," Aragorn tried once more to sway his love. "Will you face the long dark of eternity to be at my side?"

"I will face the Dark Lord of Mordor at your side," Legolas said as his hand slipped inside Aragorn's tunic and his palm encountered the fine hairs of the Ranger's chest. "Let the light of the Greenwood show you the path home."

Turning fully on the couch, Aragorn touched his forehead to Legolas'. "May it ever lead to your heart, my prince."

*****

THE END

If you enjoyed this story, please send feedback to: LadyHawksShadow