An Honourable Assassin

The Truth Revealed - sort of

Elrond brought Legolas one of the simple robes and a pair of the open sandals kept in the healing wards and watched him put them, clothing his nakedness and the beauty of his slender form, yet somehow the minimal covering added to his allure. Knowing what was hidden and titillated by the subtle hint of desire in his argent aura, Elrond wished he'd looked more fully and the idea of taking the garment back arose. There wasn't any way to justify it, though, and so he thought ahead to the spa with anticipation, for then Legolas would reveal himself once more.

More fully than he supposes.

The Lord of Imladris knew he could not put off the inevitable, no matter how fascinating this young prince was. He had to delve the warrior's heart and lay bare his plot before anyone got hurt. He noticed all the wounds were fully closed, all visible evidence of the terrible violence of the Assassin's Trials vanished, yet the Wood Elf was definitely drained, moving with slow and sluggish motion so that Elrond had to support him as they walked through the grounds. Indeed, this might be the only opportunity to catch him in so reduced a state and that should make everything much easier. Elrond had never tried to interrogate an Assassin before, being that until now Erestor was the only one in Middle-earth and he was sworn to serve Eärendil's House.

Legolas remained quiet and Elrond was too lost in his concerns to try and maintain conversation. Once confronted, how would this newly ordained Assassin react? Elrond was not worried for his safety; he had Vilya, but what would become of Erestor? Mentally he prepared for the worst: sending his kinsman over sea, devastated for a second time by these inconstant Sindarin royals. A spike of anger shot up through his heart; Thranduil had first cast him off then turned his back on Erestor. It wouldn't have been so bad, being rejected in favour of his kinsman, if Thranduil hadn't spurned him, too.

Well, that was a lie; it had been absolutely horrible to lose the Sindarin prince to Erestor and only Gil-galad's intervention had kept them from a bloody duel that would have left Elrond severely maimed and the Assassin of Sirion crippled by guilt. When Thranduil gathered the remnant of his people and departed the bloody fields of Morannon, he did not ask Erestor to join him. He must marry, he'd said, and raise up a family. A death-bed promise to his father, he'd said. For the good of Greenwood, he'd said, and then he just left. Despite his scoffing contempt for such cold-hearted dealings, Elrond ended up doing pretty much the same thing after Gil-galad wrenched a similar death-bed promise from him. Of the three, only Erestor remained alone, unloved and unwanted.

It was a long walk from the infirmary to the spa and Legolas leaned more and more on the healer, his stride becoming ever shorter, his gait shuffling almost to the point of stumbling. Elrond at last took his arm and wrapped it across his shoulders, pulling the prince tight against him. Mere centimetres from the comely face, his eyes studied pale, parted lips, moist and inviting, then met the ellon's clear azure gaze. Legolas smiled, a radiant expression that held both a touch of fatigue and a glimmer of mirth.

"Thank you," he said. "I find this more wearing than I supposed."

"Think nothing of it. If you wish to rest, we can…"

"No, no, let's press on. I will rest in the delicious heat of the sauna."

They trudged along.

Elrond began to feel the strain as Legolas transferred even more of his weight to the legendary healer. Then suddenly he gave a soft cry and his knees buckled; Elrond caught him to keep him from falling, hoisting him up in his arms with a grunt. Legolas wound lean arms round his neck and smiled, resting his head on Elrond's shoulder with a contented sigh. The lore-master was non-plussed and found his heart beating rather faster than normal. He knew not what else to do but carry on and so he did, bearing the long-limbed ellon across the manicured lawns and well tended gardens. He received one or two peculiar looks from various gardeners and groundskeepers but steadfastly ignored them.

It was, as has been remarked, a long way from the House of Healing to the spa but Elrond had never noticed it to be quite so lengthy a journey before. Or such a physically demanding one. His heart was hammering now, its tempo frantic with the need to reach their destination, mouth gaping as he panted, lungs straining for air, shoulders and arms burning, legs wobbling, step staggering. Sweat broke out on his brow and Elrond feared he might actually drop his patient, shocked to find himself this weak and wondering how it could be so. True, he hadn't spent much time in the training fields of late, but surely he was not so out of shape as this present struggle indicated.

A light laugh sounded near his ear and all at once Legolas sprang from Elrond's arms, landing upright before him, straight and tall and full of vigour. He shrugged. "I think I can make it from here," he said, his tone playful and just a little mocking.

"So it would seem," Elrond frowned, arms akimbo as he surveyed the rejuvenated ellon up and down. "You certainly recover quickly, Legolas, and weigh rather more than is apparent, too."

"Assassin," Legolas shrugged again as he set out. "That's one of the first indications an elf is right for the training: higher density of bone and muscle." He strutted off, fully aware that the short robe barely covered his rump, using his long legs to accentuate its firm and supple curves, knowing without looking that Elrond would be watching it shift and roll beneath the meagre gown.

The learned Lord stared, unable to prevent it even though he realised Legolas was deliberately enticing him. So, the son of Thranduil hoped to undermine his opponent with sensual wiles and an appeal to base lust. Well, he would find the son of Eärendil more than a match. Elrond smirked; why should he deny himself the pleasure of looking, or indeed of partaking of whatever this sylvan siren offered? It would be only just if first Elrond and then Erestor jilted this false suitor. He wondered if Legolas knew the truth about the ill-fated affair with his father but decided Thranduil must have told some grossly exaggerated tale of war-torn destiny else Legolas would not be here at all.

They reached the sauna and Legolas was first inside, still in the lead, and had already disposed of the robe when Elrond entered. He found the Wood Elf daintily dipping his toe in the water but then he smiled sidelong at Elrond and leaped in, creating a huge splash that soaked the floor and even spattered the ancient lore-master with a few drops. He settled against the edge of the pool and draped his arms along the side, gazing at his host with gleeful anticipation.

"Won't you join me?" he asked boldly, eyes flashing a daring challenge.

"I believe I will," said Elrond. "It's been a while since I spent a relaxing afternoon in the spa." He began to disrobe, taking his time about it, wondering suddenly how he would compare to the Assassin of Sirion, but then chastised himself; it didn't matter. He and Erestor were not in competition for the favours of this ellon.

Being that he'd been in the laboratory when all this started, there were no formal robes with which to dispense and the unveiling was soon accomplished. Elrond drew himself up to full height, unconsciously holding in his gut and squaring his shoulders as the woodland prince gave his body a long, slow evaluation. He decided he would not wait for any remarks and hurriedly stepped into the pool, situating himself beside Legolas with a smile. How to begin? Should he let the little sylvan slut seduce him first or just start the interrogation at once? To his surprise it was the Wood-Elf who took the lead again.

"Elrond, we have much to discuss," Legolas said seriously, reaching over and settling his hand on the bare shoulder. "I intended to wait until after the Ball when things settle down a bit, but I find my heart has grown too impatient."

"Your heart?" Elrond was amazed at the audacity of this elf and sat up. "I, too, feel there is much to be revealed about your reasons for being here. Tell me, Legolas, do you love Erestor?" Subtly, carefully Elrond employed the power of Vilya, determined to undermine any lies and deceits by forcing the son of Thranduil to speak only truth.

"What? Of course I love Erestor," Legolas frowned and raised a hand to his forehead, rubbing at it for a slight pain had arisen there along with an irritating buzzing in his ears.

"Then you are doomed for you love someone who is in love with someone else." Elrond increased the strength of the spell for he hadn't expected to encounter any resistance, yet clearly the ellon had just spoken a falsehood. "What brought you to Imladris, Legolas?"

"I would not call that doom; I think you misunderstand me. Is it getting brighter in here?" Legolas shut his eyes and opened them but there was definitely a hazy dazzle collecting about him. He shook his head against the aggravating noise.

"Why have you journeyed from Greenwood to fair Imladris?" demanded Elrond, increasing the power again. It should be impossible to either detect the effects of the mightiest Elven Ring or to fight them and he was intrigued in spite of himself.

"To complete the Trials, of course, and something more," Legolas answered, hands over his ears and eyes squeezed shut. "Which is what I want to discuss with you. Ai! There seem to be some after effects from the Trials I didn't expect. I feel…" and there he stopped, suddenly suspecting the truth. At once his anger flared up. "I can't believe it!" he spat, glowering at Elrond, and then he pounced. The mighty Elven Lord gave an undignified squawk as the wiry Wood Elf wrestled with him but his defeat was inevitable. Half a minute later Legolas sat back again, grinning in a most unpleasant way, examining his right hand carefully. "So, this is the famous Ring of Air," he said, then raised his index finger and waggled it back and forth before Elrond's face. "That wasn't very nice of you."

"Oh…uh…I…" Elrond stuttered, hand reaching toward the bright tell-tale gleam securely seated on the Assassin's thumb. His stomach squeezed into a painful knot and his heart went cold; what might an elf like this be able to do with such a potent talisman?

"Should I use it, do you think?" asked Legolas bitterly. "Or should I trust you to speak with me openly, even though you have showed me your darker nature?"

"Legolas, I only wanted to protect Erestor. You may not know it, but he and your father…"

"Are soul-mates," Legolas cut him off. "Yes, I know all about it, Elrond. I am here so that I can take his place, becoming your sworn Assassin so that he will at last be released from this odious oath. Ada can wait no longer and pines incessantly. I fear he will begin to fade if he doesn't at last have his heart-mate beside him for good and all."

Elrond gaped, unable to process what he'd just heard. "You know?" he muttered and watched Legolas nod affirmation. "You came here so he can go there, to Greenwood?" Another nod. "To be with your father?" This time an eye roll and an exasperated tsking noise arose from the woodland prince.

"Ai Valar, you are a brilliant ellon where the workings of Arda are concerned but you are a complete idiot when it comes to the workings of the heart," he said sadly. He surveyed the bewildered face in silence a moment and then sighed. "This must be something to do with the Twins," he grumped, "I saw them at the clearing during the trials; that will need to be addressed at some point soon. No doubt they imagined I was here to avenge my Ada's honour or some such nonsense. Honestly, Elrond, you should have separated them at birth and forced them to independence; perhaps that would have stimulated some semblance of mental acuity. As it stands, each one doesn't know how to use even half his brain."

"They are good sons," Elrond defended his parenting skills weakly. "But if you love Erestor how can you let him go to your Adar?" And how can you feign such interest in me? Even as he thought it, Elrond's heart leaped with excited hope. Perhaps, just perhaps this wasn't going to be a tragedy after all.

Legolas saw that hope and smiled, again settling his hand on the naked shoulder. "I love him, Elrond, but I am not in love with him romantically. Those feelings are reserved for another. Do you not love him, too? Erestor is my mentor, a second father to me. I have spent as much time under his devoted guidance and unconditional love as I have with my Ada."

"How? Erestor seldom leaves the valley and you have never come here before."

"Well, you are wrong but you were never to find out, so that's as it should be. Erestor, honourable Assassin that he is, refused to leave Imladris and sever his loyalty to you. He swore a sacred oath to serve the House of Eärendil and would not budge, no matter how much Ada begged. So, to make a long story short, Erestor built a hidden compound for me to come here and begin my training. I've been spending five years in Rivendell and five years in Greenwood for my whole life."

"Impossible! I'd have known." Elrond crossed his arms and shook his head. "You are not the sort of ellon one would miss, Legolas."

To this compliment the Wood elf blushed prettily and tossed his hair. "Thank you," he cooed proudly, "but I was only a child for most of that time and as for the rest; I'm a Wood Elf. No one is as accomplished at stealth and subterfuge; plus, all the trees are in collusion against you. There is only one pathway through and unless followed precisely, one simply ends up back at the start. You did not see me, but I saw you. I know all about you, Elrond; I've been studying you for years." Legolas sidled closer and under the water let his other hand come to rest on the Lord's thigh. Mere inches away, he gazed upon the solemn face intently, a bright and playful expression in his eyes enhanced with the heat of desire. "I find you a most fascinating subject."

"Oh, yes?" Elrond grinned and leaned in to land a light kiss on the smiling lips, marvelling that he had done it, pleased with the soft texture of the pliant flesh. He decided to repeat the experience and this time pressed lightly with his tongue to see if he could gain entry to that enticing mouth. To his delight, Legolas opened right up.

Before too many seconds had passed the two were engaged in a heated contest to see whose tongue could explore the most internal terrain, moaning and sighing, petting and caressing one another, rubbing against hard rolls of resilient flesh, sloshing water every where. Elrond, despite being the experienced lover that he was, could not manage to insert a hand between their adjacent bodies to test the girth of the archer's shaft. Every time he tried, Legolas either shifted and made the contact impossible or did this incredible swirling manoeuvre with his tongue against Elrond's soft palate that caused the Elven Lord to twitch and tingle. Eventually, he grew impatient with such teasing foreplay and deemed the time right. Carefully he insinuated one hand between the Assassin's firm arse cheeks and probed the tightly sealed opening between them while the other hand made a shameless play for Legolas' inflamed right ear-tip. The Wood Elf reacted rather severely.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" he shouted, shoving Elrond hard in the chest and leaping out of the pool. He stood glaring in insulted outrage, hands on hips, erection proudly pointing at the ceiling. "I'm not that kind of ellon."

"Oh, well, I thought…we both seemed to find it enjoyable so…" Elrond had a hard time keeping his eyes off the archer's rigid penis but managed to meet the blazing blue glare. He smiled and offered a sheepish shrug.

"So you just thought you'd help yourself, is that it? I seem like the sort of person who just gives away that kind of intimate access indiscriminately?"

"What? No, no, not indiscriminately, no. I thought you wanted to give it to me specifically. Legolas, the evidence speaks for itself," Elrond said wryly, pointing to the aroused cock. He climbed from the pool and displayed the evidence of his own desire. "I felt we were in accord, but we can just as easily reverse roles. I've no objection to granting you, specifically, that level of intimate access."

"Indeed." Legolas shook his head in a mixture of excited disappointment. "Physical attraction is one thing; the heart is another matter. I know what my feelings are, but yours cannot match them at this point. I prefer to wait until I learn to what degree you will open your heart before opening my body, or filling yours." Legolas turned away, slipped into the slippers, and reached for the robe, donning it even though the garment parted around the ruddy erection. He realised he could not go out in this condition and sighed, turning to sit on one of the benches, legs parted, cock displayed in all its erotic glory against the drape of white cotton fabric.

Elrond thought it the most obscenely enticing thing he'd ever seen.

He had no conception of how he got there, no recollection of actually moving, but Elrond found himself down on the floor pushing his face between Legolas' knees, licking the length of the engorged organ, lapping the tight sack where the hidden balls bulged, murmuring incoherent compliments and frenzied little cries of appreciation. Legolas' hands snatched at his hair and tugged; the muscular thighs closed on his shoulders like a vise; an indignant shout arose that was more shocked than angry, and Elrond refused to be repulsed. He grabbed the scrotum in one hand, locked the other arm round the Wood Elf's waist, lunged forward with all his might, and closed his mouth over the delectable cock.

The taste of it was sweet and musky; he swiped across the softness of the tender glans with his tongue, savouring a drop of fluid the motion squeezed from the tiny slit. Legolas' whole body jerked in response, the legs fell away loose and wide, the fingers knotted in his hair stopped yanking. Chuckling smugly round the hot, sumptuous hunk of meat between his lips, Elrond carefully squeezed the balls and sucked. The reaction was all he hoped and more.

"Elrond! Ai nín Vala!" (Oh my God!) Legolas shouted, voice shrill, wavering between panic and pleasure. Pleasure won. Unable to control his body's natural instincts, he squirmed and writhed on the bench, unconsciously trying to cram more of the rigid organ inside that warm wet cavity with its highly mobile, talented tongue. He couldn't believe what was happening and the idea that he should make it stop drifted faintly in and out of his mind between jarring flashes of electrifying bliss. "D…Daro!" he managed at one point, but "Nay, nay! More, more!" he heard himself moaning the next.

Before long, he realised he was going to come and frantically tried to communicate this to Elrond, but the lore-master ignored all his warnings. In fact he increased the level of stimulation, using that unbelievably agile oral muscle to tickle the most sensitive zone at the pinnacle of his penis. Legolas gave in to a powerful orgasm, exhaling a long cry of agonised delight as his cock emptied down the mighty ruler's throat, lost in a dazzling explosion of internal fireworks that put the best of Mithrandir's starry rockets to shame. It was over too soon, yet the experience left him dazed and exhausted, though content and happy in a manner he had not known before, and that is what he said.

"Never," he mumbled between panting gasps, gazing down upon Elrond in smitten wonder, "never have I felt anything so grand." He grinned when Elrond laughed proudly. "I never imagined," he added, supporting himself with one arm as the other combed through silken ebony strands.

"Never?" Elrond smirked, sitting back on his heals to survey the results of his work. Legolas' penis was completely lax, his cheeks were flushed, his eyes sparkling, and he had the most deliciously sated smile adorning his fair features. As he watched, the archer sighed and shifted, reclining on the bench, one arm behind his head and the other reaching to examine his genitals as though to make sure everything was still there.

"Never, but that was quite naughty of you, after I said we should wait." He sent Elrond a reproving frown that refused to be serious and instantly transformed into a light laugh and a huge grin. Then he yawned softly, letting a little mew end the gaping intake of air, and languidly blinked a few times. "Tired," he whispered and promptly dropped into reverie. He was still recovering from the Trials, after all, and had not expected to engage in such a thrilling expenditure of energy quite so soon.

"Legolas?" Elrond called, surprised and a little irritated. He was still rock hard and had hoped to get the Wood Elf to suck him off in turn. Obviously that wasn't going to happen any time soon.

He stood and gazed down at the slumbering ellon and discovered he couldn't really be angry, looking upon that angelic countenance so at peace, so content, a slight smile still adorning the ruby lips. He shrugged and dragged another bench nearby, sitting so he could focus on the beautiful figure, and opened the robe, exposing Legolas fully. Then he took himself in hand and imagined what he wanted, seeing the red mouth close over his cock, the bright blue eyes peering up at him, deadly hands delicately massaging his balls. Elrond's orgasm was not nearly so physically draining, though, and so he took himself back to the pool to soak. Occasionally he glanced over, still amazed over his unexpected good fortune, finding he was content to wait after all. He dozed a bit.

Then he suddenly remembered something important and got out of the pool, approaching the newly minted Assassin in tip-toed trepidation. He frowned, noticing the sparkling gem on the elegant hand while his fidgeted together in debate before cautiously reaching for it. The Wood Elf grunted his displeasure and pulled the hand away, switching so now that one was behind his mane of golden hair. What to do, what to do? It was unwise to disturb sleeping dragons and napping Assassins. Elrond waffled between making a grab for Vilya and imagining what life would be like with legs paralysed by a broken back.

"Um…Legolas?" Elrond poked the prince's knee gently and was swatted away like any annoying fly. "May I have my Ring back?" For an instant the hazy inward vision cleared and pierced him with such intense perception that he caught his breath.

"No," said Legolas and returned to his soothing dream-scape.




TBC