Fan Fiction ❯ Lord of the Rings: Stargaze ❯ Forestmaster ( Chapter 5 )

Forestmaster

"O! Will you be staying,

Or will you be flying?

Your ponies are straying!

The daylight is dying!

To fly would be folly,

To stay would be jolly

And listen and hark

Till the end of the dark

to our tune

ha! ha!"

Knock knock. "Come Legolas, we'll be late."

"Just a minute," Legolas replied, slinging on his quiver of arrows and grabbing his bow. He went to the door and opened it. Arora stood there in her blue tunic and violet poncho, carrying a bag of things and wearing her own bow and arrows. "All right, let's go."

"What took you so long?" Arora asked in a teasing tone. "It's nearly dawn already."

Legolas looked at her. She seems to be in a better mood today. I wonder what last night was all about? "Just because your people do not sleep is no reason to antagonize mine about our nocturnal habits," he replied with a little smile.

Arora laughed lightly and hooked his arm in her own. "You seem excited. Are you looking forward to this trip?"

To her slight surprise, Legolas blushed a little. "I am. Very much so, in fact. I know it will be dangerous, but I can't help feeling like this will be the greatest adventure any one of us has had or ever will have again."

Arora's smile fell just a little. "Are you frightened?" she asked, more quietly.

"No," he said with all seriousness. "I am not afraid. I am confident that my skill with a bow will be a match for our enemies. Besides, Gandalf is with us, and Aragorn. They are powerful. There is no reason to be frightened."

He felt Arora stiffen slightly beside him. He glanced at her.

"Are you?"

She had a troubled look on her face, but when he asked her that question, the look disappeared and the cold mask came back. She lifted her head proudly. "No. As you say, there is no excuse for fear or doubt."

Legolas wasn't sure, but he thought he heard her voice slip on that last word.

~*~

The entrance to Rivendell held a strange congregation in the shine of the morning sun. Elrond stood before the Fellowship preparing to depart. Several of his people - including his daughter - stood behind him.

Arwen had tried to say goodbye to her friends. She succeeded with Legolas, who had no malice towards her or Aragorn at all. But when she reached Arora, she encountered problems.

Arora still had not forgiven her for loving Aragorn, apparently. It seemed that she was still angry that Arwen would relinquish her attention of her friends for a Man. Arwen knew this, and her eyes were sad and pleading as she wished Arora good luck. But the Night Elf princess said nothing in return, and her face was hard as stone. Arwen had tried to give her friend a farewell hug, but Arora had pulled away, nodded as a plain symbol of respect, and rejoined the Fellowship again.

Legolas had stopped her. "That was not so kind of you," he said, his tone of voice displaying disappointment in her. But Arora had responded only with a cool, emotionless stare, and another proud toss of her head. Legolas sighed.

"The Ringbearer is setting out on the Quest of Mount Doom," Elrond began. "On you who travel with him, no oath nor bond is laid to go further than you will."

His gaze drifted to Boromir, and then to Arora. She was watching Arwen give Aragorn a steady look of farewell and love.

Elrond nodded. "Farewell. Hold to your purpose. May the blessings of Elves-" he looked to Legolas and Arora "-and Men-" he looked to Aragorn and Boromir "-and all Free Folk-" and finally stopped on Gimli "-go with you."

Legolas placed a hand over his heart respectfully, Arora bowed her head, and Aragorn and Gandalf nodded. Then Gandalf turned to Frodo.

"The Fellowship awaits the Ringbearer."

Frodo turned slowly, aware of the eyes of all present on him. He watched Gandalf sweep his hand towards the trail that would lead them out of Rivendell and onto their Quest. He started forward, and noticed that, one by one, each member of the Fellowship began to follow.

Frodo passed underneath the arch and found that the path split in two directions. He hesitated.

"Mordor, Gandalf…is it left or right?"

"Left," Gandalf whispered behind him.

Frodo turned to follow the left path, and the Fellowship's Quest has begun.

~*~

Legolas sat apart from the others, absently playing with one of his arrows. The sun was setting on their eighth day of traveling, and things had been relatively peaceful, if you didn't count Arora and Aragorn.

For the first few days, Arora had seemed to be looking for a reason to fight Aragorn, and if she couldn't find one she had started making her own ways. The first day that had argued over whether or not Arora should be allowed to clean herself up in a nearby stream. Aragorn insisted that they could not wait for something so simple, but Arora stubbornly refused to go without bathing. It was clear that Aragorn did not want to argue with her, but Arora forced him to do so. Surprisingly enough, it was finally Gandalf who cooled Arora's temper.

For the most part, Arora was quiet. Any remarks she did make were short and often biting towards anyone that wasn't Legolas or Gandalf. She obviously intensely disliked Aragorn and Boromir. She looked down on Gimli, but pretty much ignored him anyway. She thought the Hobbits were soft and childish and completely unfit for such a dangerous mission. Arora had taken down her crest of hair and let the silky locks fall freely, but she still held her new air of pride and self-righteousness.

Arora had quickly taken a great liking to Gandalf. She admired him, for she was still trying to improve her own magic powers. To the surprise of all in the Fellowship save Legolas when they heard about it, Arora had gone to Gandalf in private and had humbly asked if he would tutor her in the magical arts. Gandalf had agreed with a knowing smile.

Since then, Arora had given Gandalf all the authority over her that any Night Elf would have given to their beloved leader. At a word from him, any fight with Aragorn would stop instantly. When they rested, she sat with him and he taught her until he wished to sleep.

Legolas had watched all this with a blend of amusement and confusion. He was happy that Arora had found a mentor in someone as wise and powerful as Gandalf, but that didn't push aside her normal behavior…or perhaps it was abnormal, since the last time Legolas had seen her before the Council, she was nothing like the spoiled little girl she had become.

She never made conversation with anyone except for Gandalf and Legolas. She made it a point to isolate herself whenever possible. She rarely smiled, save for with those aforementioned, and she never laughed. She was offended whenever she thought one of the Fellowship was insinuating that she couldn't handle herself, like when Aragorn offered to take watch for her. He still attempted to be polite, which only seemed to infuriate Arora more.

But the strangest thing to Legolas was what happened at night.

Night Elves rarely needed to sleep. For this reason, Arora had decided that she would keep watch at night, since she had nothing else to do. Most often she did this from the highest point near their position, but whenever she had had a bad time with one of the Company, she would do something unusual.

She would go to wherever Legolas had chosen to settle for the night, after the others had fallen asleep. Then she would sit down beside him and lean close to his body. The two of them would spend the rest of the night talking in their language in soft voices.

Legolas knew there was something bothering Arora inside…he could see it in her eyes sometimes…and he didn't think it was her search for her parents. There was something else that troubled her, and he wanted her to tell him, but she never did. She seemed very grateful when they simply talked.

Legolas wanted to help her. He was hurt that she didn't tell him. He had always helped her before. That was their friendship - he had always been the strong one, the one she turned to for courage. In return, she had been the heart of their duo, the one he in turn needed to nurse his injuries, and to bail him out of the many problems that his bravery got him into.

Bravery and adventure. He smiled to himself. A few of those times, Arora and I nearly frightened my mother and her brother out of their minds.

Is that what he was doing this for? For the adventure and the excitement? Well, perhaps in part…But there was also the underlying need inside him.

He was tired of living in his brother's shadow. While it was sometimes apparent that the Mirkwood Elves preferred Legolas to Khisanth on most occasions, and while Lauranna always gave equal love and affection to her two sons and five daughters, Khisanth was still the Crown Prince, and Legolas was still his inferior. Khisanth had authority over him in anything that concerned the decisions of the Royal Family, and Thranduil seemed to favor his firstborn for simply that reason.

Legolas was tired of it, and tired of Khisanth's threats and tired of the hatred that flowed between his brother and himself with no way to release it without getting caught and pulled into serious trouble. The Quest of Mount Doom would give him a chance to prove his worth over his brother, especially in the eyes of his father.

"Arorilaia, are you certain you do not wish to rest tonight?"

Legolas lifted his head to see Aragorn trying to convince Arora to give up her watch that night. Aragorn was making a valiant effort to be as patient as he could, but Arora frowned darkly at him from where she was sitting on a rock.

"I am capable of taking watch, Master Aragorn. Do you in some way doubt my competence and worth in this company?" she replied in the same soft voice she always used.

Aragorn stared at her in utter disbelief. Legolas could tell that Arora was gearing up for an insult, but then Gandalf turned his head to look at her.

"Arora…" he muttered, and then shook his head.

Arora fell silent and shifted in her spot. Aragorn shook his head and turned away again. Boromir looked disgusted, for he did not like Arora either. Sam looked disapproving, and Frodo, Merry and Pippin blinked in bewilderment. Legolas sighed sadly.

What will it take to make her normal again? he wondered to himself.

The stars were appearing in the sky, and Legolas leaned back and gazed up at them.