Ringspell

Chapter 8.


My enemy...


When they returned to the great bedroom, they found only the hobbits there; Boromir and Gimli were presumably searching the fort. Aragorn handed the Ring to Frodo without prompting, glad to be rid of the vile thing and turned to Gandalf, to observe what he felt sure would be an interesting conversation between the old Wizard and the young Prince.


Amazingly though, Gandalf said nothing until the return of Boromir and Gimli, when he bid the company to sit down, and called a meeting, of sorts.


The first person he turned to was Aragorn, bidding him to recount the events in the cavern. Aragorn nearly panicked, and swiftly began constructing a heavily abridged version of the story, leaving several glaring omissions and even telling a couple of blatant lies.


He decided from the outset that he would tell the company that Legolas had given up the Ring willingly and, when telling that the Elf had had the stone as well, neglected to mention the pleasure that his friend had been fed, through the glowing orb. At no point, did he say that Legolas was Saurons' son.


When he was finished, he looked at Gandalf and waited for a reaction. There was no doubt that the Wizard knew his story was mostly fabrication, but Aragorn felt he had to at least try to put Legolas in the best possible light; The others in the room were already looking at the young Elf with barely concealed suspicion. To Aragorn's relief, Gandalf did not question his tale, but the meeting was not yet over.


The Wizard then turned to Legolas and Aragorn realized, with horror, that the Elf would be forced to make his own confessions and the Ranger feared that the others would not be so understanding as he.


"I think you had better tell everyone exactly what is going on, Greenleaf." Gandalf said.


"Oh, please do." Boromir added, his voice tinged with malice.


Aragorn looked closely at the Captain of Gondor; if anyone would hate the Elf for his heritage, it would be him.


Legolas hesitated to speak, his eyes flickering around the room, scanning the faces of the people he had come to think of friends. When he finally did speak, he stared at his feet and the words were barely audible.


"Sauron is my father." He confessed, visibly sinking into himself, as the mask he wore so well, began to crumble.


Aragorn looked around. Shock swept across the faces of his companions, and he watched, his heart sinking, as, one after the other, the expressions turned from surprise to outrage.


"WHAT!?"


The word was repeated endlessly around the room, some members of the Fellowship rising to the their feet and advancing on Legolas, demanding explanation. Concerned, Aragorn edged closer to his friend, prepared to defend the Elf, if he must. Before it came to that however, much of the group's attention turned to Gandalf.


"You knew about this." Boromir accused the old Man. "You knew and you should have told us. We come all this way, we follow you as sheep follow the shepherd, to discover only now, that the enemy walks amongst us!"


He pointed theatrically at Legolas, who had not moved since making his declaration. His words clearly stung the Elf deeply and Aragorn took action to head-off Boromir's train of thought.


"Legolas is not our enemy, Boromir." He said. "He cannot choose his parents any more than you or I."


Boromir glared at him, but it was Gimli who argued.


"Blood runs thick, Aragorn." The Dwarf said in his guttural voice. "If that, there is Saurons' kid, that makes him enemy enough for me."


The Dwarf pointed his axe ominously at Legolas. The Elf, who had not yet looked up, stood stock-still, listening as one-by-one, his friends turned against him. Only Frodo had yet to speak out against Legolas; the Ring-bearer sat silently in his chair, seemingly overwhelmed by the growing hostility around him.


"What is that supposed to mean?" Aragorn asked of Gimli.


He was answered by Boromir.


"That Elf - or whatever it is - can't keep travelling with us. Who knows what secrets it has already told its master." The Man said and suddenly, he drew his sword.


"I say, we take care of it right now and be on our way." Gimli seconded Boromir's notion.


The hobbits, who had joined in taunting the young Elf with his past, suddenly fell silent, as tension tightened in the room and the threat of violence drew ever closer.


"This is insane!" Aragorn protested. "Legolas has pledged his life to this quest, as we all have. You cannot kill someone because you do not like their parents - it is cold-blooded murder!"


"Sauron does not hesitate to kill the children of his enemies!" Boromir countered, working himself into homicidal excitement.


Aragorn looked to Gandalf to control the situation and the Wizard did so, in fine form.


"Oh, enough of this nonsense! Really!" He berated the group, in his most condescending tone. "You are all behaving like orcs! Put that away, Boromir, before you hurt somebody."


He did not even spare the Gondorian warrior a second glance before he rounded on Gimli.


"And that is quite enough out of you, too, Dwarf." He laid heavy emphasis on Gimli's race. "It would be wise for you to remember, in whose home you now stand."


Gimli lowered his axe, somewhat reluctantly.


The Wizard now turned to Legolas and he spoke with remarkable gentleness.


"Do not be frightened, Legolas. No harm will come to you."


Legolas looked up to meet the old Man's gaze, uncertainty written all over his pretty face.


"You understand, why they react the way they do."


Legolas nodded slightly.


"And in time, they will understand that you are more than just your father's son."


Whether this last part was meant for Legolas or was said for the benefit of the Fellowship was unclear, but the tension in the room lifted considerably, as Gandalf spoke.


"Now," the old Wizard said. "let us all sit down, and I will tell you the whole story."


To be continued...