Fan Fiction ❯ Wild Blue Yonder ❯ Shadow Rising ( Chapter 48 )

Fic title: Wild Blue Yonder
Authors: DBZ Vegeta/Stace

Rating: PG-13/R

# of Chapters: 48/?

Category: Angst/Action/Adventure/Romance/Suspense

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.R.R. Tolkien, various publishers including but not limited to Ballentine Books. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

 

Author Note: I wanted to apologize for the serious wait for this chapter. In addition to a major writer's block, I also had one family member hospitalized, another passed away and I started a new job, had a major work inspection, along with deploying my spouse to the “sandbox”. All in all the past three months have been hellious and if it weren't for my wonderful friend/co-author, this chapter would never have gotten done this soon. Thank you for your wonderful patience and I hope that you enjoy this chapter.

 

~*~

 

Chapter 48 - Shadows Rising

 

Soft light filtered through leaves of the slowly changing colored canopy. A gently breeze stirred the dappled light, the patterns constantly changing over the ground. A tall, graceful figure moved slowly among the trees, his expression pensive and worried, eyes unfocused and farseeing; unable to appreciate the beauty that surrounded him.

 

“Father?” called a soft voice, startling the tall man. He turned sharply to find his daughter and son standing behind him.

 

“Arwen, Elladan. What's wrong?” he asked concerned by the like expressions on their faces.

 

“We should be asking you the same question, Father?” Elladan said, his voice filled with his fear and confusion.

 

Elrond sighed gently and gestured towards a small grouping of stone benches. Taking their seats, his children looked at him expectantly.

 

“I know that you are concerned, I too am concerned. However brooding over this mater will not help.” Elrond said, looking deep into their eyes.

 

“But Father, what if she doesn't...” Arwen started but was forestalled by her father's hand, that raised to stop her comments.

 

“Time will tell, my daughter,” he said, rising and placing his hands inside the sleeves of his robes. He smiled gently to them before turning and striding away.

 

“Time will tell! This isn't the time to philosophize.” Elladan snorted scornfully.

 

“No Elladan, we can't question him. He knows best.” Arwen replied, though her voice was filled with he doubt.

 

“Best for who? Rain or all of our people!”

 

“Am I interrupting?” Aragorn said, as he walked up to the squabbling pair. He bent down and dropped a kiss on Arwen's brow before sitting down next to her.

 

“No dear. Elladan is still upset with father.”

 

“Why are you still upset? There is nothing that we can do until they return.” Aragorn said evenly.

 

“I'm upset because he didn't want to tell us in the first place! It's only our lives that he's hiding from us!” Elladan snorted furiously.

 

“Maybe he knew you that you would react this way, that is why he didn't tell us in the first place.” Arwen said, frowning at him. “You are acting like a tiny elfling whose had his favorite bow taken from him.”

 

“I am not a child!” Elladan cried, shooting up off of the bench.

 

“Then stop acting like one and act more befitting your age.” Arwen snapped, before he stood and stormed away. Both Aragorn and Elladan watched as she rounded the corner of the pathway, before Elladan fell back to the bench with a sigh. He hung his head, hands clasped together between his knees. Aragorn looked over at Elladan before his reached out a placed a hand on his shoulder.

 

“You know, she's right. You are acting like a spoiled child.” He watched as the petulant expression slid away from Elladan's face to be replaced by a contrite one.

 

“I know. I just can't help it. This situation has me totally frustrated and confused.” Elladan said, not looking up from the ground. Aragorn smiled softly as he kept his hand on Elladan's shoulder and sat there companionably with his brother for the remainder of the afternoon.

 

~*~

 

“What the hell is your problem!” Rain yelled, as she stormed across the room to stand over Legolas's reclined form.

 

Legolas's eyes opened briefly before he closed them once again, and rolled over away from her. “Nothing's wrong.” He murmured softly.

 

“Bull! Why don't you stop running away from your problems and face them like the adult you are!”

 

Legolas rolled back over and sat up, his hair falling over one shoulder. “I am not running away!” he said glaring up at her.

 

“You could have fooled me,” she said, her arms coming up to cross over her chest. She knew that if she didn't do that, she might very well be tempted to hit him for being an idiot. She didn't know what was running though his mind, but she knew that had to do with her.

 

She watched as he pushed himself off of the bed and began pacing back and forth agitatedly. She leaned back against the wall next to the headboard and watched as he mumbled to himself. She almost could have smiled as he suddenly spun on his heel and pointed an accusatory finger at her, if she hadn't been so irritated with him.

 

“It's all your fault.”

 

“And what pray tell, it all my fault?” she asked, one eyebrow arching upwards in annoyance.

 

“You are the one who made me fall in love with you and now you say you are leaving! What the hell am I supposed to do! Die from a broken heart or try to get over you now!” he glared heatedly at her, his blue eyes flashing with his anger.

 

“Right, die will you,” she snorted, “Aren't you being a little overdramatic.”

 

He straightened up, his arm falling to his side, his face taking on a blank expression. “You really don't know alot about elves, do you?” He stepped forward until he was inches from her, and leaned down slightly looking into her green eyes.

 

“How could I, Legolas? There are no elves where I come from, and the only information I have is from reading Tolkien's books.”

 

Legolas' smooth brow creased with confusion. “Who?”

 

Rain opened her mouth to explain, but then quickly closed it when she realized how difficult the explanation would be. How could she possibly begin to tell him about an author who had written a fictional trilogy so captivating that there were people who devoted their lives to the study of these stories? Or that as a child, she herself had been entranced with the epic, and especially with one character in particular? Then there was the fantastical paradox of her being pulled into a world, and the lives of the characters in the flesh, that supposedly only truly existed in the pages of a book.

 

“It doesn't matter,” she replied with a heavy sigh. “Please tell me what you meant about dying.”

 

“Elves who have found their true soul mate cannot live without them if they are taken from them. They will wither away until there is nothing left but an empty shell...then they die,” he said, his eyes boring into hers.

 

She could see the anger in his eyes, along with pain, sadness and an overwhelming amount of love. She reached up a hand, her fingers tracing along one high cheekbone. “Why do you think that I am leaving?” she asked softly.

 

“Because you worry all the time about what is going to happen when you get home,” he said, his anger suddenly deflating at her touch. “But what's going to happen to us when you leave?”

 

“I don't know, it may not even be possible for me to return home.” She dropped her hand from his face and turned away from him, pacing slowly back and forth. “There are days when I don't even want to return home, what is there to actually go home to for me?”

 

Legolas looked at her curiously, “What do you mean?”

 

She shrugged noncommittally, before looking down at the hand she had curled into his tunic and then back up at him. “I know one thing though, I know what I feel about you. I don't think that I have ever felt this way about anyone before. It's the only thing that I can guarantee at this moment in my life.”

 

“But what if that's not good enough for me?” Legolas challenged softly.

 

“What?”

 

“I've given you my life, Rain.”

 

“Legolas, I never asked-“

 

“I know!” he cried in frustration. “But that's not what I'm asking. I need to know, Rain. What is it that you feel for me?”

 

“I ... I....”

 

Legolas shook his head sadly. “You say you know, and yet you can't even give me the words. Just as you can't answer whether you'll stay with me, or leave me as if I meant nothing and return to your home.”

 

Head bowed, Legolas turned away and began gathering his few possessions.

 

“What are you doing?” Rain asked in growing confusion and alarm.

 

“The only thing my pride and dignity will allow,” he replied softly. The leather bag containing his few clothes and personal effects in one hand, and his quiver and bow in the other, he finally turned to face her. A shiver of fear raced through her heart when she saw how empty and lifeless his once vibrant cobalt blue eyes were.

 

“I can no longer wait at your feet like a servant, hoping for the words that would soothe my troubled mind and heart. Nor can I bear for you to see me fade before your very eyes.”

 

“You can't leave, Legolas. Not now.” Rain reached out a shaking hand to him in appeal.

 

“You have Gimli, Elrohir and Gandalf to aide you in your quest; you don't need me. Perhaps if I am not around, you will be able to make your decision with clarity and finality.”

 

Legolas paused in the doorway, turning to look at her with a sad smile. “From the first moment I saw you, so long ago, I knew you were different from anyone I had ever known in my life. That intrigued me and I know that it was at that very moment that I began to fall in love with you. Each smile and laugh you gave me, knowing how rare they are, simply captured my heart even more.”

 

Rain's breath came in ragged gasps, her eyes burning with building tears.

 

“I know that you've been hurt in your past,” he continued with a gentle smile, “and because of that, you try to hide your emotions and guard your heart to protect yourself. You're unable to trust those around you, but you fear trusting in your own heart even more. I had hoped that you could come to trust in me, and my love for you, and in time, trust yourself. But time is running away and I now understand that I cannot force you to accept that truth until you are ready.”

 

“Know this and keep it close to your heart. I bear no ill will towards you; no anger. For in loving you, I understand you better than you understand yourself. It is your smile, the sound of your voice speaking my name, and the feel of your heart beating next to mine that will be in my memory and heart always. From the first day, I loved you, and will do so until my last.”

 

With one last searching glance into her eyes, he turned and left the room.

 

He was gone. Everything he'd said about her had been right, and now because of her stubbornness, the one person, the only person she'd ever truly been able to trust, was gone.

 

She suddenly felt empty and incomplete and in that instant, came to a startling realization. There were no definite answers in life, and certainly no guarantees. But while she would never know the future; never know what hurdles lay ahead, there was one thing she was now absolutely certain of.

 

Regardless of what lay in her future, the mere thought of not having Legolas by her side was unbearable. Were she to choose to return to her own time, her old life, she would be forever changed by the people she'd met in Middle Earth.

 

And Legolas. He would be lost to her in more ways than one. Never again would she be able to snuggle under a blanket, with a cup of coffee in one hand, and her beloved, dog-eared copies of Tolkein's books in the other, reveling in the wild adventure and stoic heroism of her favorite character.

 

Nor would she be able to spend countless hours lost in the realm of fan fiction, both reading and creating fantastic tales of Middle Earth. That would become meaningless and devoid of joy, acting as a reminder of all she'd chosen to leave behind.

 

Somehow, somewhere, she had been pulled from her own life, and been brought home, to a land she had come to love may years ago. And it was in this home that her heart lay, with his long, silken hair, sapphire blue eyes and calm, gentle smile.

 

“Legolas!!” Rain cried frantically as she raced for the door, praying it wasn't too late.

 

~*~

 

“Are you sure about this?” Elrohir asked softly. Legolas had found him in his room, Gandalf nowhere in sight, and over the course of the next several minutes had told him of his decision to leave the group.

 

Legolas nodded slowly with regret. “I have thought about it at great length and feel this is the only choice left to make.”

 

Elrohir began pacing the room in agitation. “It's a death sentence, `Las! If you could just try talking to her...”

 

“I have,” Legolas replied calmly.

 

“Then I'll try! And if I can't get through to her, then there's Gandalf, and my father. Maybe a female will work better, like Arwen or Galadriel.”

 

“She has to come to me, and give herself to me, of her own free will, Elrohir. You know that.”

 

“There has to be something we can do,” Elrohir said dejectedly, his proud shoulders sagging in defeat.

 

Legolas placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. “We have done all that we can. The rest is up to her.”

 

“I love you!!!”

 

Startled, both elves turned to the doorway to find Rain standing there, tears streaming down her pale cheeks. Her wide, fear filled eyes were focused solely on Legolas.

 

“You were right,” she continued in a wavering voice. “All my life, the people I loved have left me. And I thought that by not admitting that I loved you, by not acknowledging it, that this time, you wouldn't leave me.”

 

Hope shimmering in his eyes, Elrohir quietly slipped from the room, carefully closing the door behind him. Neither Rain nor Legolas noticed his exit.

 

Not wanting to frighten her, Legolas remained where he stood, forcing himself to quell the need to run to her and crush her to him in his arms.

 

“Legolas, I don't belong in my world anymore, and I don't really know if I ever did. And as much as my heart is telling me that I belong here, it terrifies me to think about staying here without you. Because then I'd have nowhere to go, nowhere to belong.”

 

Legolas did go to her then, pulling her roughly into his embrace, burying his face in her soft hair. “You do belong here, Rain. You have family that loves you, and I swear to you that I will always be here for you, standing by your side until the end of time. I will never stop loving you.”

 

Rain clung to him, her arms clasped tightly around his lightly muscled waist, her tears of relief soaking into the fabric of his tunic above the rapid beat of his heart.

 

Legolas pulled away slightly, his hands gently lifting her face to his as his lips sought hers. Her heart soared as she opened herself to him, heart and soul, and their tongues danced in a duel as old as time.

 

Rain reached around, tugging impatiently at his tunic, frantic for the feel of his silken skin beneath her fingers. Breaking their kiss for only a heartbeat, Legolas quickly released the ties and with one fluid motion, pulled the tunic over his head and sent it sailing unheeded to the floor.

 

With a muted cry, Rain reached for him, her hands eagerly caressing the pale skin of his chest and flat planes of his stomach, her lips leaving light kisses in their wake.

 

Legolas released the band to her braid, freeing her hair and running his long fingers through the unbound curls. Bending down slightly, he once again sought her mouth, groaning deep in his throat when she came to him willingly.

 

Not eager to lose the contact, Rain tried to ignore Legolas' repeated tugs at her shirt. But soon, the need to feel her own bare skin crushed up against his became unbearable.

 

Legolas' breath came in deep gasps, his pupils dilated with an almost uncontrollable desire as he watched her rapidly remove her shirt, sending it flying to the floor to join his.

 

Quickly they embraced once again, heat flushed skin crushed together, their tongues entwined in a passionate battle. Hands frantically touching every curve, memorizing every plane and angle, they began a hypnotic waltz towards the bed, until Legolas' knees bounced against the edge, sending them both cascading onto the mattress in a tumble of limbs and heated kisses.

 

~*~

 

Nanook's furry head tilted first to one side, and then to the other, until he finally raised an inquiring gaze to his companion.

 

“I think they're going to be okay,” Elrohir whispered with a smile as he removed his hear from the door. Nanook whined gently, his bushy tail sweeping the floor in hopeful arcs.

 

“What say we go down and get us a celebratory steak?”

 

Nanook's large ears perked forward and he licked his chops eagerly.

 

Elrohir chuckled. “My treat, buddy!”

 

Needing no further prompting, Nanook left his mistress to her own devices and with a decisive sneeze, padded down the worn corridor to the main cavern.