The Jewel of Mirkwood

Chapter 64

Silently Legolas crept past his sleeping tutor and out onto the balcony. With little effort Legolas perched himself up on the stone handrail and stared quietly out into darkened valley and up at the stars above him. Somewhere in the realm beyond was his beloved Glorfindel. The seneschal was most likely sleeping on the hard wooden floor of an outpost somewhere, cold and tired. Legolas sighed heavily and shifted his back up against the post of the railing in order to dangle his legs over the edge and let them swing in the cool night breeze. Glorfindel had only left him that morning yet to Legolas it felt like a lifetime already. His heart had done little but flutter irregularly all day giving him not peace or rest. In vain Legolas had tried to sleep tonight but try as he might the prince could not even find rest in his dreamscape. The restless tossing and turning had become too much for his own delicate stomach and Legolas had reluctantly left the warmth of his bed for tholneolness of the evening.

The quiet sounds of the night had soothed Legolas un rest somewhat but it did nothing to alleviate the prince’s worry for his lover. Legolas had been all too aware of what lay ahead of the seneschal having gone down stairs with Elrohir earlier that day to help tend the wounded in the first attack. Despite himself Legolas had involuntarily overheard a conversation between Erestor and Elrond when he was bathing a soldiers injured arm. The elvan lords had spoken of men and of traitors of their own elvan kin but Legolas had refused to believe that elves would do so things to their own blood. Yet despite his desperate belief the proof had lain all around him, screaming in agony and writhing in pain.

Whispers too had begun circulating in the healer’s houses, about Legolas and his gift. The prince had tried to ignore them but he’d heard them all the same. Some of the wounded still with the strength to speak told jokes to one another about the prince’s beauty and his lack of skill in battle. A few even dared to poke fun at his relationship with Glorfindel and although Legolas seemed to let the words roll off his back in truth each nasty comment hurt him inside. It worried him how so many he did not know could learn of his situation so quickly, and how they could pass judgement on him without knowing him. On one occasion during the day he’d heard a servant speaking to another, their words of hate of all woodland elves had been too much for Legolas to bear. Without making a scene he had run from the houses of healing and into the garden his tears staining the grass as he’d fallen to his knees and cried.

From a child he had been taught that those outside Mirkwood had been the enemy of all woodland elves and up until now Legolas had believed his fathers teachings to be false. Yet as the rumours and comments had begun to get louder he could not ignore the fact that all of Imladris was talking about him and none of it was good. For appearances sake he had pushed on through the day working in silence to heal those not capable of speech. He had not stopped for lunch his stomach already twisted into knots making hunger impossible. All the while though he had thought of Glorfindel and had silently prayed for his lover to return soon. The comments and rumours would be nothing to him if his love returned to his embrace.

At the evening meal Legolas had sat in complete silence merely staring at his plate in distain as he listened to those around him talk of war and the unseen enemy. While none of them had spoken of it Legolas knew the underlying feeling which the company seated around the table had. Like the times before Legolas found himself the cause of everything that was going on and while most were polite enough not to mention it in his presence Legolas knew what they were all thinking as they avoided the topic. Filgree had encouraged him to eat but Legolas had politely declined before whispering his leave to Lord Elrond and heading for the sanctuary of the gardens.

For over an hour Legolas had walked alone barefooted upon the soft grass of Rivendell’s gardens. He had seen little of Imladris since his arrival and longed to explore the magnificent realm. His illness though had confined him to his bed of late while recent events had prevented him for venturing further from the house. While Legolas hated to admit it he felt just as he did back in Mirkwood. He was still a virtual prison, just a different place, a different time and different oppressors. Legolas had wondered silently if he would ever truly be free from all restraints of his life. Glorfindel had featured heavily in his thoughts and the prince could only imagine riding away from everyone and everything on the back of a horse with Glorfindel, leaving behind everything they knew just to find freedom in each other. It had been a wistful thought, Legolas having known from the beginning Glorfindel’s ties to Lord Elrond and his family but it was a dream none the less, something to hold onto in the darkness that was to come.

It was Elrohir that had found him sitting by a fountain in Elrond’s private gardens, lost in his own world of thought. Legolas had been loathed to leave his sanctuary but Elrohir’s insistence that he return to the house could not be denied. Over the course of his walk the last rays of sunlight had disappeared and the stars of the heavens had begun to illuminate the night sky. That very morning Filgree had warned him against going too far after dark and Legolas did not want to upset his tutor.

In his rooms he had taken a long soaking bath insuring that he washed his hair and soothed what remained of his injuries and scars with healing balm. The ability of his body to heal so rapidly had surprised Legolas. His injuries had all but disappeared after his night spent next to Glorfindel in bed. It had been in that moment Legolas had realised that Glorfindel too had made the most miraculous of recoveries. While it had not occurred to him until then Glorfindel’s leg had been healed enough for him to walk confidently upon it that very morning. Legolas secretly wondered if them being together had anything to do with their recoveries but seeing as though no one else knew of their time together Legolas had no one to inquire about it to. So Legolas had dropped the subject and would think about it again later. Filgree had been very animated in his conversation during the evening in an attempt to keep Legolas in high spirits. The attempt at light heartednthouthough was transparent and Legolas knew his tutor was just trying to cover the rumours he himself had heard circulating in the healing rooms. After some time spent warming by the fire Legolas had retired to bed leaving Filgree to watch over him in sad reflection. His mood though had done nothing but bring him unrest and in turn that had led him to his current position on the handrail of the balcony.

Legolas lightly swung his legs back and forth against the rail remembering all the things he had done in childhood to make himself feel happy and special. At the time they had seemed trivial and foolish in the eyes of all those witnessing them but now as Legolas felt unhappiness engulf his heart again he tried to think of something to do to make himself feel better. It came to him in a brief moment of thought and the mere idea made him chuckle to himself. The game he’d made up as an elfling had begun during a miserable day spent in the kitchens of Mirkwood. Legolas had been caught going through his brother’s things in the study and Thranduil had punished him to a week in the kitchens preparing the meals. Technically it had not been Legolas fault, his brother having stolen a poem from him early that day and Legolas had been merely retrieving it. Still Thranduil would not have listened to reason if it had hit him in the face so Legolas had been resigned to his punishment with a heavy heart. So the game had begun in an effort to lighten his heart at the current situation. It was a silly game made up of nonsensical words and unheard tunes but despite its foolishness had done the trick of easing his unhappiness.

So as he sat on the balcony rail he began to sing a little made up song with funny words with funnier meanings still. To anyone listening the song would have made no sense but it was a beautiful tune sung by a wonderful voice. Legolas song lasted well into the night entertaining those nightly creatures who paused long enough to listen. Legolas hoped that Glorfindel could hear his song but the likelihood of that was remote even with elvan hearing abilities, so instead Legolas finished his song and bowed his head in prayer for his loved one.

That was how Filgree found his youngest charge in the early hours of the morning, perched precariously on the edge of the rail his head bent to his chest and his eyes vacant in slumber. With a careful hand Filgree had carried Legolas back to his bed and had tucked him safely into the blankets. Despite having hope Filgree knew silently what Legolas was going through. Glorfindel was gone and rumours of Legolas’ gift were spreading far and wide. It would not be long before someone came for Legolas and if Glorfindel was not there Filgree stood little chance of saving the young prince. Filgree silently passed a hand over Legolas forehead shifting some of the stray hair from the young one’s face. All Filgree had ever wanted for Legolas was his freedom but it seemed in a cruel twist fate that freedom would come at a very high price…

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

(A/N) Sorry it's taken a while to update this comes as a result of a day of work having a cold and feeling sorry for myself.