The old ways

But before the hobbit could rise from the ground, Gandalf stopped him with a wave of his hand. "No, my dear hobbits. Forgive my harsh words, but the wounds of this war are fresh and our souls are weary. It's best you stay here right now. Better leave Legolas alone for a while. Gimli, I believe, will look after him and if anything should arise, he will surely call for our help. Let us all try and get a little bit of the night's rest and hopefully we'll see a brighter day tomorrow."
When Legolas suddenly left the fire, Gimli had jumped up immediately and marched after the elf. He knew he was needed and it made him somewhat proud inside that Legolas confided in him that much. It made him think of Galadriel's words and a small smile crept over his face. This time he found Legolas very quickly, for an elf had not wandered off too far. He stood beside some rocks and had his face turned upwards, where a beam of moonlight shone through the dark clouds, that sailed through the sky this night and bathed in its pale light. Gimli was entranced by the way the elf seemed to glow in the light, and before he had reached him he heard the well known soft voice drift over to him.
"I can still feel him. Like he isn't gone at all. Just like he is far away but still in this world. Never would I have believed a bond could be so strong that I could still feel him all the way to Mandos Halls. It gives me a little comfort but also makes me want to cry out for him. Gimli, how will I bear all of this in my remaining life?"
Gimli had reached the elf's side and took his pale, slender hand in his. "Come my friend. Let us find a more comfortable spot and we will talk. We will talk about him. It will help, you will see. Tell me about how you lived as a married couple, tell me about his brothers, about your wish for children. It doesn't matter, tell me anything. Come" He tugged at Legolas' hand again and pulled the elf with him to some smaller boulders. He made the elf sit down and quickly went to gather some fire wood. While he busied himself with the fire until it was burning brightly, Legolas had not made a sound and if Gimli hadn't known better, he could have believed that the elf had died sitting there on that spot. But Gimli had kept a close eye on his friend and never failed to notice the slow, but somewhat shallow breathing. He moved at the elf's side and put a callused hand on his shoulder.
"Now, Master elf. Tell an old dwarf how you two made your living. Did you stay all the time in Mirkwood or did you have a home in Lothlorien as well?"

Legolas had steadied his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands. He shook his head slightly, tears slipping through his fingers falling onto the dry ground between his feet.

"Ah, so you stayed in Mirkwood all the time?" Gimli tried to ignore the tears and pretended to engage in a casual conversation.

Again the elf shook his head, but this time a bit stronger than before.

"Come talk to me Legolas. You will see it will make your heart lighter. It eases the pain to remember."

It took another hour until the elf was able to talk again. His body had grown too exhausted for any more shudders and sobs and his eyes could not cry anymore, they were swollen and bloodshot and he squinted even in the pale moonlight.

With a voice so faint and trembling, that Gimli at first had problems to properly hear, Legolas started to talk "No, we had a housing in Lothlorien as well. A few years after residing in Mirkwood, I couldn't bare Haldir's homesickness any longer and one day I packed a few thitogetogether and took my husband back to Lothlorien. There we weut iut into the outer rim of the forest to look for the perfect tree for the talan we wanted to build. It took a few days to find it. We started to gather the wood we needed and went to work. At first it was going to be a smaller talan, with only two rooms, but suddenly I remembered the scrolls and books I found in my father's study so many years ago and so I tried to persuade Haldir to build a bigger one. I didn't want to tell him why, so I made up many feeble excuses. At first he wouldn't listen to my arguments but in the end he gave in. I think it was more because of my constant nagging than because of my ideas, but that didn't matter as long as we would have a three room talan." Quiet trembles wracked the princes frame from time to time, and in between his breath hitched, but he continued quietly.

"After seven weeks we were finished and as it is a custom among my people, other elves gathered and brought us presents for our new home. Linen and satin for our bed, tables, cushions and pottery. Haldir's brothers gifted us with a large softly woven rug. It was thick and had a wonderfully dark, red colour. I remember the remarks they made as they gave it to us. When we all together had managed to bring it up the stairs into the talan, Rumil and Haldir unrolled it on the floor of the main room and put it into the desired position. When the last corner of the carpet was flattened, a small and delicate bottle with a wooden stopper rolled out of it, and Orphin put his hand over his mouth in mock surprise. Oops, there it is. I thought I had lost it. Well, actually it is exactly where it is supposed to be and, if I am not too mistaken, will be needed the most. With that he turned hiding his laughter and pulled Rumil after him, who was giggling too. So the first night we spent in our own talan ,we actually spent on the floor on that red soft rug." Again tears were sliding silently down the pale cheeks and Gimli reached out to wipe them tenderly away.

"So you seemed to live a happy life then. When did things started to get rough? You two didn't seem to be the type to have fights." Gimli inquired.

A sad smile touched the elf's lips. "Believe me, we did fight. But I don't want to remember the bad times. There are not worth anything. All I want to remember from now on are the wonderful time we had, the love we shared and the passion." Legolas' head dropped forth "It's all I have left, only my memories."

"No, it is not all Legolas. You carry a part of him inside of you and not only in your heart but also in..., well I don't know really. Anyway in your body." Gimli looked at him sternly.

"So, my friend tell me something nice. Tell me, when you decided to undergo this procedure to become fertile. Did you tell Haldir from the beginning?"