The Jewel of Mirkwood

Chapter 40

Quietly Legolas stared through the open window unable to take his eyes of the sickly white skin of the great elvan warrior. All of Lothlorien was in uproar. Healers darted in and out of the room while all of those in power hung desperately around the warrior’s bedside their head bowed in silent prayers to the valar. Unlike the scene Legolas had witnessed in the council chamber earlier in the morning, enemies and friends alike were now united in their silent sorrow and hope. Even his father, Thranduil was sitting religiously beside Glorfindel’s bedside his large ring adorned hands now lightly petting the warriors limp palm.

It was earlier in the night when Legolas had awoken from his healing sleep with a frightful start. Outside on the balcony there had been shouting and curses, while elves ran frantically back and forth past his bedroom doorway. Legolas had looked around the darkened room hoping to find Filgree but for the first time in many years his tutor was nowhere in sight. The only time Filgree had not been present in his room all night was during the war when the Tutor was ofghtighting campaigns, so Legolas was sure something was drastically wrong for Filgree to not be there with him now. Rising slowly from his bed Legolas had waited a moment to gain his balance on his feet. The herbs Elrond had given him after the procedure to rid his neck wound of infection were still heavily sedating him and making balance difficult. Swaying a little Legolas reached for his robe on the chair near the fire and awkwardly pulled it on. Lord Elrond had given him strict instructions to stay in bed and allow himself to recover but with such a crisis outside Legolas could not restrain himself from finding out what was happening. For all he knew his father could have started a war with Lothlorien, taking the opportunity of being on enemy land and using it to his advantage. Legolas hoped it was not true. During his brief time wite ele elves Legolas had found them all quite amiable quite the total opposite of all the stories he had been told as a child about them. Stumbling a little Legolas wandered over to the tapestry covering the entrance to his room and peeked out from it. The hallways had gone strangely quiet now and not even a servant could be heard moving around. Taking a shallow breath in Legolas stepped out onto the balcony and looked awkwardly both ways. The thick bandage around his neck made moving his head difficult without pain but Legolas pushed on regardless. While no physical signs showed themselves on which way he should go a constricting pain in his chest and an unusual voice in his head told him to go right down the balcony towards the healing houses. Legolas felt strangely light headed the closer he got to the healing talons, and although it could have been the healing herbs Elrond had given him Legolas doubted it very much. Something dreadful had crept into his body and he could not shake the feeling fear that grew with every step he took towards the healing chambers.

Legolas found himself breathless with fear by the time he reached the largest of the healing talons. As he looked into the window of the talon it was then that he felt the fear grip his body. He shook like a leaf as he focused on the body lying in the center bed of the room. Glorfindel face was so pale and lifeless; his eyes closed concealing the beautiful blue eyes that had sparkled like stars every time Legolas had looked into them. Distantly and with tears in his own eyes Legolas watched as Lord Elrond, still dressed in his sleeping robes, slumped over Glorfindel’s body physically exhausted by what he had just been doing. Lord Erestor and Celeborn were kneeling at the healer’s side in an instant, helping him shakily from Glorfindel’s body and into one of the chairs by the large fireplace in the room.

“I can not find him, his mind is beyond my reach.” In defeat Elrond slumped into the chair and Legolas watched as Err brr broke down into choked sobs beside his Lord. Legolas had known from the very moment he’d seen the two friends together in Mirkwood that they had been close perhaps as close as brothers would be. Wiping his tears on his sleave Legolas turned his attention to the other elves in the room. Legolas was a little shocked to see his father sitting stoically beside the Lorien guard capitan Legolas had met that morning. Haldir the marchwarden seemed like a new elf however, the proud warm creature Legolas had met that morning was now looked mortified by Elrond’s declaration. Like most of the lords in the room Thranduil was still dressed in his night things his long black hair flowing freely down his back unbraided indicating the King’s hasty awakening. Legolas had never seen his father so undressed in public, even as a child he’d never been permitted to enter his family’s personal bedrooms apart from his own and the kind prided himself in always being respectfully dressed during the day.

“How did happen?” Lord Celeborn knelt carefully beside Glorfindel’s bed his hand shakily reaching up to gently push the stray blonde locks from Glorfindel’s sickly face. Everyone turned their attention to the marchwarden who stood up hastily and walked over to the far side window his back facing the group.

“I told him.” Legolas frowned through his tears at the marchwardens simple declaration. Filgree had told him before he’d fallen into sleep that Lord Glorfindel had left Lothlorien. He had been disappointed not to have the Lord’s company as he dearly wanted to say thank-you to the warrior for saving his life. Legolas however remembered the shiver of fear that had run through his spine as Filgree had told him Haldir was going after Glorfindel. The prince was going to say something but thought better of it. No one would listen to him anyhow; he was just prince Legolas Greenleaf, elfling and useless warrior. Now however as he stared at Glorfindel’s body he somehow wished he had have spoken out. “I told him about Legolas. About me. I told him what he wanted to know.” Hearing his name spoken Legolas refocused his thoughts on the scene going on inside the room. Haldir was now leaning against the wall his tearful gaze focused on Glorfindel’s body. “I never saw him look so shocked in all my life. He lost concentration, lost his balance on the branch and then the wind did the rest.” Haldir lowered his gaze from his stare upon Glorfindel and Legolas felt suddenly sorry for the marchwarden who looked to be terribly haunted by his memory. “I tried to catch him but it was too late…” Haldir stumbled on his words as his sobs began to increase. “I have killed him, this is all my fault. It was not supposed to happen like this.” Haldir broke down into sobs and Legolas watched shocked as his father ran over to the blonde elf and caught him in his arms holding him tightly against his chest. In all his years Legolas had only dreamed to be shown such love from his father only to see a stranger receiving something he never had. Dumbstruck Legolas watched as his father began to whisper soothingly into the blonde’s hair his hands still wrapped tightly around the others body as it shook in sadness. After so many years of coldness Legolas had thought his father to be incapable of showing affection but now as Legolas stared at the scene in front of him did he realise that the lack of affection was only ever directly at him.

“Nay Haldir do not blame yourself. We are all guilty of blindness and selfish desires.” Again the conversation inside the room took a turn to confusion through Celeborn’s words and Legolas frowned as he watched Filgree enter the room from a far side with a warm bowl of water and a sponge. The tutor wandered quietly over to Glorfindel’s body and kneeled down beside it. Slowly Filgree began to sponge warm water onto Glorfindel’s hands and face with care.

“What are you doing?” With the help of Erestor Elrond rose to his feet and stood over Filgree questioningly. To Legolas it was obvious that Filgree was causing great interest to the Imaldris Lord and the prince wondered why someone so knowledgeable could not understand what his tutor was doing to Glorfindel.

“He will get cold soon this will keep him warm.” Erestor helped Elrond kneel next to the tutor before Legolas watched as Erestor moved from the room the same way Filgree had entered.

“How do you know he will get cold?” Celeborn now also interested in the tutor’s actions moved to lean across Glorfindel to watch as Filgree circled Glorfindel’s palms with the sponge letting the warm water pool in their center.

“Because I have been where he is now and have seen what he is seeing…” Filgree paused and looked over his shoulder at where Haldir was still enveloped in Thranduil’s arms. “You also know what I speak of because you have seen it too.” All the eyes on the room focused on Haldir who reluctantly lifted his tear-stained face from Thranduil’s chest and slowly nodded his assent at the tutor.

“He will not survive he has nothing to live for as you and I did.” Haldir reluctantly let go of Thranduil and came to stand at the end of the bed staring down at Glorfindel’s pale face. Filgree snorted indignantly and shook his head at Haldir. Legolas sighed he had not seen his tutor look so determined in all his life and it seemed strange that after their frosty friendship in Mirkwood his tutor would suddenly seem to want to take care of Glorfindel.

“Then you mistake his feelings as we all have done. He has just as much to live for as you and I, Haldir. Like I did with you during and after Legolas’ birth, I will nurse him through this the best I can……” Legolas’ eyes widened considerably in shock at Filgree’s softly spoken words. His body froze, his lungs and heart failing even as the words replayed themselves in his mind and began to sink into some sort of meaning. No one in the room had time to reply to Filgree however before Erestor burst into the room breathless.

“The prince, he is not in his room and I can not find him in the corridors.” All the elves were instantly on their feet at Erestor’s breathless statement. Thranduil turned sharply to Celeborn and accusingly pointed a finger.

“If this is your doing I will have your head!” Legolas watched his fathers’ stern mask returned instantly as he gathered his bed robe around him and ran from the room calling for the servants to wake his two eldest sons’. Celeborn had taken several unnerving steps backwards at Thranduil’s accusation but having realized what was happening instantly turned to Haldir.

“Get the horses and wake the boarder patrols we must find him immediately.” Haldir nodded and disappeared from the room. Celeborn went to follow his guard but Elrond stood and placed a preventative hand upon his father in law’s shoulder.

”What about Glorfindel? He needs to be tended to.” Elrond looked shocked as Celeborn shrugged Elrond’s hand off his shoulder and glared at his son in law.

“You know as well as I Elrond that Legolas’ safety is far more important than Glorfindel’s treatment. The elfling is in danger and we need to get to him before someone else does. There are more things in this world than us Elrond who desire the power Legolas would bring to them and their race. The elfling is too innocent to understand, he is his own worst enemy and should he be cajoled, would probably go willingly, to unwittingly doom us all.” Celeborn looked sternly at Elrond before glancing at Erestor and Filgree who were still standing over Glorfindel’s body. “The warrior will have to fight his own battles for now. Let us pray he still has the strength he had when fighting the Balrog, for I have no doubt he will need it to get through this night alone.” Celeborn paused as both Erestor and Filgree obediently stepped away from Glorfindel and up beside Elrond. “Come we must ride with luck the prince will merely have become lost and will not have strayed far.” Legolas watched from the windowsill as the last of the elves in the room left leaving the tapestry swinging in the doorway. The young prince felt numb his mind still refusing to acknowledge what he’d heard Filgree say as the truth. A voice inside his head told him to be reasonable and rational but he just couldn’t force himself to believe it. When Filgree had taken him to the outpost that fateful night back in Mirkwood the tutor had told him he needed to tell him a secret and had begun to do so before the attack. Legolas couldn’t help wonder if that was the secret Filgree was going to tell him then, yet it didn’t make sense. All Legolas remembered was being told something about parchments and scrolls from the valar nothing about this strange Lorien elf being his real father.

Pushing the confusion of the events aside Legolas focused on Glorfindel’s body. When the prince was sure no one else was in the room he slowly climbed in through the window. His hips still hurt from Filgree’s manipulations but he ignored the pain and concentrated on getting to Glorfindel’s body. Padding quietly across the floor Legolas kneeled beside the warrior’s bed and gently pressed his hands against Glorfindel’s pale cheeks. Legolas had hardly believed his ears when Celeborn and the others had just left Glorfindel on his own. So what if he was the Prince of Mirkwood, it was folly to leave a sick elf alone to go in search of one much less worthy as Glorfindel. Legolas didn’t care that half the population of Lothlorien was probably out looking for him, all that mattered was Lord Glorfindel.

The elf lord had given up time to come and save Legolas from Keeldon and it was the least Legolas could do but look after the Lord when everyone else had abandoned him. Legolas did not understand why finding him was more important than looking after Glorfindel but then again he did not want to know. Lord Glorfindel had come to mean a lot to him. The elf Lord had been the first elf to truly take an interest in his life, even when being deterred by Thranduil and it was that point alone that warmed Legolas heart. Glorfindel had made the effort to get to know him even if it was brief meetings but still he’d persisted.

Leaving Glorfindel’s side momentarily Legolas dragged over a chair from the fire and placed it close to Glorfindel’s bed. Bending down Legolas placed a soft gentle kiss upon Glorfindel’s forehead just as Filgree had done many times to him before in comfort.

”Do not fret Lord Glorfindel of Gondolin I will care for you like you have done for me.” Legolas whispered softly in elvish into Glorfindel’s delicately pointed ear before picking up the sponge and warm water to begin the treatment he’d seen Filgree doing. Settling into the routine of treatment Legolas began to sing, softly as not to draw unwanted attention but loud enough for Glorfindel to be able to hear, if he could. Legolas was determined to look after Glorfindel and until such time as the Great Balrog Slayer was well again he would not bother to dwell on the confusions that surrounded him and his own feelings.

TBC>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

(A/N) Sorry it's taken so long I got sick and have got the flu so this story being so complicated as it is needed my full attention and I just hadn't got it to give being sick and all. Anyway here's the updates, hope you like this. We get to the real crux of the problem in this next chapter.