Cuil Eden

49


“Are you too good now to talk to us?” One of the guards snorted and came closer, and Legolas automatically flinched away.

“You can use his gold and let him dress you in silks and velvets, but it will never change what you really are!”

Little whore, Legolas’ mind supplied as he looked fearfully up at the soldiers. That was what they were thinking… Had he not heard it all before from his brother? But then, Glorfindel had been there to protect him, as had the Lady and Lord of Lothlórien. Now, though, he was all alone…

“Ada?” Gîlríon asked uncertainly, and Legolas felt the tiny hand slip into his own, larger one. He forced himself to smile as he turned back to look at his son, and drew him against his body for a moment to hold him close. “Do you see Haldir over there?” he asked softly, motioning towards where their guard was still teasing the giggling serving maid. “Go to him and help him… I will return to you in a moment. Can you do that for me, Gîl?”

“Yes, ada,” Gîlríon said obediently, although the frightened look he gave the guards was enough to make Legolas feel cold with shame and dread. In the end, it did not matter what they said or did to him, but he could not bear the thought of Gîlríon being made to suffer for who his father was, and what he had done.

“So that is the bastard that Noldo got on you?” the guard enquired once the child had run off, and the other two chuckled when Legolas flinched.

In that moment, Legolas wished he could die. To hear them talk so about Gîl hit him with a pain unlike anything he had felt before, and it was only made worse by the fact that there was nothing he could say against it, for it was the truth. Gîl was a bastard…

Glorfindel had named him his heir and loved him so fiercely that sometimes, watching them together was painful in how it showed what growing up should have been like for himself, but all of that did not change the fact that they had not been wedded when Glorfindel first took him, and that there was still no ring on his finger.

“Please, leave my child out of it,” Legolas pleaded helplessly. “He is far too young to understand any of this!”

“Too young to understand that his ada is a little whore who betrayed both father and kingdom for the gold and protection of a Noldo?” the guard asked and snorted. “Oh, but do not fear, Legolas, I do not care about your little bastard. I was just wondering if what you got out of it was worth betraying your kingdom and your family for.”

“If it is Glorfindel’s cock you betrayed us all for, you could have saved yourself much trouble. It might have taken you some time to work your way through your father’s army, but I think in the end you would have found someone big enough to satisfy even a slut like you.”

A first tear escaped Legolas at their cruel words, but they were not yet finished with him – instead, it seemed that his anguish only made it worse.

“Ahh, but did you not hear yesterday's gossip?” the third guard interrupted. “By now the entire forest knows about how Haldir dealt him a lesson, and stripped him for all to see just what a pretty little thing the Noldo has warming his bed. And how he keeps him pliant and pleasing with a strict hand… Tell us, Legolas, do you need that? We know that he hits you, that he lets you feel the whip – do you cry then as well? Or do you beg for more?”

“Just look at him,” the guard closest to Legolas said derisively. “Of course he begs for more! You really should have said so sooner, Legolas. The King would just have denied you as a son, but we would have found a place for you despite all. I would have done it myself - given you a good whipping until you knew your place and would bend over for anyone at my command… I usually prefer a spirited lover, but teaching you how to use your body to please those above you would have been a nice diversion.”

Legolas slowly shook his head in shock, swallowing against the tears. He had never been popular, and these guards were Galuron’s friends, but still their hatred was almost more than he could bear. What had he done to deserve this? Why would nobody see how hard it had been to do what he had done? That he had done it all for Gîl?

“Do you suck his cock?” the one who had stepped around Legolas to press threateningly against his back enquired, and the others laughed when Legolas gasped in shock at such crudeness. “Do you enjoy it, too? I am certain that you do.” The soldier’s hand came up to stroke over the richly embroidered brocade across his chest, so that Legolas made a startled sound and tried to move away, but now the other two had moved in and trapped him between their bodies.

“Of course he enjoys it, how else do you think someone like him would pay for what he wears on his body?”

They laughed again, and Legolas shook his head, his eyes wide and burning with tears. He had been prepared for their hostility, but he did not know what to do in the face of such cruelty. He knew how to hide, how to make himself seem unobtrusive, but Glorfindel had given him beautiful, rich clothes that made him stand out in any crowd, and now that he had drawn their attention, it was too late to hide.

“Do you feel no shame, whore? Strutting around freely to show off your master’s gold, although everyone knows that you have earned all of this on your back?”

“Stop this! Do not touch me!” Legolas finally cried out, panicking when he tried to push against the chest of the guard in front of him and found that he would not move. “You know nothing about me!”

“We know that you betrayed your own father and King for a Noldo, and we will not forget!” one of them hissed, and Legolas shivered in fear when he realised that they had trapped him, and that he never would be able to break free of his own strength. “It is because of you that we are here – because of you that our Prince is a hostage, instead of being back home with his family and his friends!”

“What do you want from me? My father sent me away, and I left the realm as I was told! You cannot fault me for that! I had a child to think of! What else was I to do?” Again Legolas tried to push their hands away, hating himself for his tears, hating himself for being weaker than they were.

“I am no longer his son! I am no Prince! I am Glorfindel’s, just that, nothing more, so leave me alone!” he cried again, trembling with shame at how pathetic he sounded. He could see the hate in their eyes and it scared him, although he still clung to the hope that the publicness of the marketplace would keep them from going any further. But then one of the guards pulled a knife from his belt, and for a moment his heart stopped.

He thought of Glorfindel, and he thought of Gîl, and then, strangest of all, he thought of his father. Would he grieve at all, thinking of his youngest, fallen at the hands of one of his own soldiers in a far-away country… or would he be glad that finally, that youngest son could no longer shame him with his weakness?

One last time, he tried to escape, but their strong bodies would not budge. Suddenly there was a hand in his hair, pulling so roughly that tears pooled in his eyes and he cried out from the sharp pain, and then the glint of the polished steel blade blinded him. He closed his eyes, denying them the pleasure of seeing his fear and pain, and prayed that Gîl would not be watching.

His head was pulled further back by his hair, yet it took him a long moment until he realized that the sharp blade was not resting against his throat. He opened his eyes again, and when he saw what it was they wanted to do, he cried out in fear.

One of them held the blade to his hair, which another had twisted into a rough ponytail, threatening to cut it off, so that Legolas gasped and tried to escape once again. But he could not break free, and the sharp pain when they tugged on his hair made hot tears spill from his eyes.

"Don't! Oh, please don't!" he begged in horror, thinking about what Glorfindel would say, who had so often praised his beauty.

"Afraid your master will send you away if you are no longer the pretty little whore that followed him out of Mirkwood?" one of them murmured, and the others laughed when Legolas sobbed in humiliation and fear.

"You do not deserve to wear these... It makes me sick to even look at you, flaunting our braids! You are no royalty! Take one step into Mirkwood again and see how far these braids will take you!"

Legolas moaned in despair when one of the royal braids Glorfindel had insisted on was given a particularly vicious yank. "I will take them out! There is no need to do this! Please!" he begged, only wishing now to escape, but they just laughed at his pleading. Then, suddenly, they fell silent, and Legolas continued to sob softly for a moment until he realized that they had stopped playing with him.

When he looked up, he found himself staring directly at Haldir – and the guard was furious. His sword was pointed directly at one Sinda's heart, who now slowly let go of Legolas' hair while the other lowered his blade, all of them stepping back to release the youth.

Haldir kept his sword pointed at them for a long moment, but then reached out towards where Legolas still stood between them, trembling from shock and uncertainty. With his left arm he pulled the youth back against his chest, the suddenness of it making Legolas cry out again, but when Haldir kept his arm tightly around him, he finally relaxed, feeling so weak with relief that he feared he would faint.

"Steady, your Highness," Haldir said softly, yet loud enough so that the guards would hear. "Forgive me, I should not have left you even for a moment, but I did not know there were such ruffians about. What a disgrace," he added, louder now to make it obvious he was addressing the Sindar, "attacking an unarmed youth who had his small son with him, and both esteemed guests of our Lord and Lady too! They shall hear of what has transpired today, and I would not be surprised if our Sindarin guests lose some of their rights, until they have learned to behave as civilized people do!"

"Thank you, Haldir," Legolas said weakly, resting his forehead against the guard's strong chest, unable to move for the moment, although his brother's guards were probably laughing at his weakness yet again.

"Yes, thank you, Haldir," one of the guards mockingly repeated. "It would have been foolish to dirty our hands with that one anyway, although we would have been certain of his father's thanks at least. Make certain that the little whore is properly grateful, though – losing your pretty red cloak should be worth more than just a quick tumble with someone as well-used as that one."

"If I see even one of you anywhere in the vicinity of this glade in five minutes, I will ensure that the market is closed to you for the remainder of your long stay," Haldir threatened coldly. "And you know that I can do that, pretty red cloak or no – so off with you."

There were no more threats after that, although Legolas continued to tremble in Haldir's arms even after they finally left with scowls on their faces.

"Are you well, little prince? Did they hurt you?" Haldir asked, and the rumble of his voice deep in his chest reminded Legolas of Glorfindel, so that he pressed himself more tightly against him for a moment.

"I thought that they would kill me," he finally whispered, still shocked. "I thought that I was going to die!" Again he sobbed softly when he remembered how he had thought that he would never see Glorfindel again.

"And Gîl... is he safe? Did he... did he see?"

"Shhh... calm down, little prince," Haldir said, and his voice was deep and soothing so that even the hated epithet seemed affectionate rather than mocking. "I left Gîl with the serving maid as soon as I saw that there was trouble. Do not worry, she is a neighbor – she adores children and promised him to let him taste his way through all the desserts the cook can make. He did not see anything, and I think she will be able to keep him distracted for half an hour at least. You have time to calm yourself before we have to return for him..."

Legolas sighed in relief and closed his eyes, sinking further against Haldir when his knees grew weak, now that the danger was gone. He did not even protest when he felt the guard lift him up and carry him away as if he were a child – in truth, he doubted that he could have walked on his own. But Haldir did not carry him far. When he was let down, Legolas opened his eyes again and saw that Haldir had taken him to the border of the glade, where bushes hid them from the curious eyes of others.

"Thank you," Legolas said softly, stiffening when Haldir pulled him onto his lap again after he had sat down as well, but then relaxing when he remembered how the guard had saved him. He sighed, still trembling a little, but Haldir's physical presence calmed him. "Why are you being so nice to me?" he asked finally, blushing a little at how naïve the question sounded, but needing to know all the same.

Haldir laughed in answer and shook his head. "I am not nice," he said and snorted, as if it had been an insult. "And I am your guard, after all. If there is anyone who is allowed to torment you, it is me, and certainly not the likes of them. Also, I am hardly doing this out of the goodness of my heart – I just want to see you be grateful, sweet prince."

"Grateful?" Legolas echoed, then smiled hesitantly. "I really am, Haldir, thank you so much! I will never forget-"

"Oh no, little prince. Did I not just save the beautiful maiden from a bunch of ruffians? I think that is traditionally rewarded with a kiss," Haldir drawled, his fingers slowly creeping up Legolas' back under his tunic, caressing the smooth skin so that the youth began to tremble again.

"I am no maiden," Legolas protested, but still he smiled and moved forward to shyly press his lips to Haldir's cheek, blushing at what he was doing.

"Valar, you are too sweet for words!" Haldir groaned. "But that was no kiss, little prince... Let me teach you!"

He held Legolas' chin in a firm grip and then swept in to take the kiss he wanted, overwhelming Legolas with his strength and passion so that the youth gave in to him with a soft moan of surrender before he even realised what was happening. For one moment, Legolas melted into his embrace, his submission an ingrained reflex at being handled so, but then a muffled squeak escaped him and he pushed Haldir back, staring at him in indignation when the guard chuckled.

"That is a kiss... and truly, you are so very sweet!" Haldir enthused, making a display of licking his moist lips so that Legolas groaned and closed his eyes, weakly hitting his chest with his fists.

"Stop that! You are horrible!"

"I told you that I am not nice. Rúmil is nice..." Haldir said and rolled his eyes a little as if to show what he thought of his more even-tempered brother.

"Yes, he is! And I like him! He saved me from you!" Legolas said, his eyes narrowing at this criticism of one who had been so good to him.

"Ahh, but you do not like nice, Legolas, do you? Glorfindel is not nice..."

Legolas blushed and this time, he did not answer, so that Haldir smirked and pulled him close again, only to be rewarded with another indignant sound.

"Oh, I know what your master is like.. Glorfindel can be cruel and demanding and strict, and that is exactly what you like, is it not?"

Legolas sighed, the thought of Glorfindel and what he was like so distracting that he smiled.

"It is not what they think," he then said softly. "It is not what you think, either. I... he does not need to punish me to make me obey. Do you truly think I do not know how far above me he is? His attention, his affection, his love, it is something I am grateful for every single day. I know my place… He does not need a whip to teach it to me. And I am sorry, Haldir, if I offended you yesterday. I do not truly think that I would ever be able to best you. It is my Lord who wants me to learn how to fight, but I know that I shall never be a warrior like he is - or like you are. I just wanted him to be proud of me..."

"Yes, well... of course you shall never be quite the warrior that I am. I pride myself on being rather unique."

The corner of Haldir's mouth twitched, and Legolas looked at him as if he feared that any moment now, his confession would be met with humiliating laughter or scorn.

"I think that maybe I should apologize," Haldir then said, and now he was nearly shaking with suppressed laughter. "You truly are far too sweet for your own good, do you know that? What a pity that Glorfindel got to you first! But the truth is that I did make a mistake yesterday. I should never have treated you so. No matter who your father is, first and foremost you are Glorfindel's, whom I respect. After all, if Glorfindel were to treat Ellonúr the way that I treated you yesterday, I would be furious, and rightly so."

Legolas looked up at the sudden mention of the counselor, but then decided that it was probably not the right time to ask what Haldir had planned for him.

"You can pick duels with Galuron any time you like, though," Legolas finally said. "He and his guards... I would not mind at all if someone cured them of their arrogance. They can say to me whatever they like – and it was not as if any of what they said was a lie – but to do it in front of Gîl is simple cruelty. It is not Gîl's fault that I am who I am."

"And what are you? A whore, like they said?" Haldir asked, his voice carefully free of any judgment.

At his question, Legolas swallowed, his fingers clenched tightly around Haldir’s tunic, still too shaken to give up the contact with his savior although he knew what Haldir’s reaction to his next words would probably be. "It is the truth... you know it as well as I do. But what else was I do to? I wanted my child to live. And what else has someone like me to offer Glorfindel?"

Haldir's eyes widened and he opened his mouth as though to speak, but then closed it again. There was a strange expression on his face as he stared thoughtfully at Legolas, but after a moment he sighed and shook his head, and the familiar smirk reappeared.

"Poor Glorfindel, it is no wonder he seeks to spoil you so! You must make him feel terrible! Thinking you are a whore when the love is there shining in his eyes for everyone to see... If I were him, I would give you a good spanking until you forgot all about that. You would like that, I think. Oh, you would be so sweet and pleasing after that, and you would thank him too! It is a good thing I already did all of your shopping for you, little prince. I promise you that he will enjoy what you picked for him."

Legolas swallowed when he was reminded of the mysterious parcel Haldir had brought from the leatherer's shop.

"What did you buy?" he asked, feeling both curious and fearful, but Haldir only laughed and shook his head.

"It is a surprise. You will like it, and I will spend all evening imagining how sweetly obedient you will be, and how lovely you will look, on your knees before your Lord..."

Legolas sighed almost dreamily as he imagined it, too, then blushed so that Haldir laughed again and shook his head.

"You really are asking for it – do you even know what you look like? Up with you, or I will eat you alive!"

Legolas found himself laughing too this time when Haldir helped him up. He had already forgotten most of what the guards had said, and was instead looking forward to whatever it was Glorfindel would do when they returned. It must have been what Haldir had been aiming at, and Legolas smiled, feeling absurdly grateful.

"I think you are a very nice person, Haldir," he said, and then took off for his son, still laughing at the horrified expression on the Galadhel's face.