Feä Bond (Legolas x OC)

Two sides of the same universe

The glittering caves had left him speechless and for once, Legolas had regained his humour by telling Gimli that only a dwarf could render them justice. Aglarond, as named by the Numenoreans millennia ago, shook him to the core such was the amazement of its pillars and structures. The natural light reflected on rock walls, shining like tiny diamonds, the caves glittering from the very bottom to the top of its elegant arches. It should have been ... it WAS a magnificent sight.

But ever since the war, the elf only watched the world from afar. It was so rare now to marvel at the beauty laid before his eyes, his visit to Fangorn's forest only a reminder of his former ability to be joyful. For his sorrow was great, and expanding. Who would have believed it? That he could feel, now, more miserable than with Frances' blood coating his tunic? Yet, his despair kept growing, gnawing at the tiny threads of sanity.

Of Aragorn's coronation and wedding, he kept a few vague memories. A song, a ray of sunshine lighting King Elessar from above as if the powers had acknowledged his efforts. But no Valar had come thanking him, the wood elf, for his own sacrifice. The loss of his mate, her Feä torn from this world as she travelled to a strange place in the hope to be whole again. There had been so much blood, her blood, pooling on his skin, hot and sticky. Her life force fleeing her body as he held her, desperately praying, shaking like the leaf he was named after.

The sight would haunt him for the rest of his days.

Had she made it home alive? Had her doctors been able to save her? For months, he prayed. He had been so ready to follow her, saying his goodbyes in a flash to a stunned Aragorn on the battle field, a letter addressed to his father in Gimli's saddlebag. Braced for the loss of his family, his world, his forest, and the more than five hundred of his former life. He had lived aplenty; that choice was definitive.

But when his fingers had closed upon the void, the blue light taking Frances but rejecting him, Aragorn had to restrain him from doing anything stupid. For the first time in his life, Legolas had longed for death to take him! How ironic, after battling for his life like a demon, that he would so willingly choose to die. But the pain in his chest was so raw, so excruciating that he would have done anything to make it stop.

For days, he rode without a word, Gimli by his side. Until his the promise he had made to Frances took over. He needed to go on living; he had sworn to her, on the hill below the moonlight, that he would seek to heal. And this promise only kept him alive. Gimli took him to Fangorn to ease his fears and attempt to heal his Feä. Brave and gentle dwarf, who dared hoping that his friend could be whole again by wandering through the forest. But how could he, when every breath he took reminded him that half of his heart was missing?

Speaking of Gimli, the dwarf seemed to have disappeared. Not that it was uneasy, for the sheer size of the caves could have misled any living being. But not a dwarf, not THIS dwarf. Trying his best to focus on reality, and the present moment, Legolas started wandering through the caves in search of his friend. When a faint echo reached his sensitive ears, he knew he had found him. Cocking his head to the side, Legolas stretched his senses. But his ears could not peek more than a few shuffles; never before had Gimli been so silent.

Frowning, the elf wondered why his friend seemed so intend on escaping his notice. How preposterous for Gimli to believe that he could sneak away! Following the faint sounds that betrayed him, the elf's silent footsteps hid his stealthy approach to the oblivious dwarf. His steps lead him to the bottom of the tremendous cave, right into a narrow opening. Unbidden souvenirs of Moria, and the path of the dead were forced down without a second thought. The elf certainly did not want to revisit those, especially now that Frances was not there to share his misery.

Passing through dark corridors, and narrow passageways, Legolas progressed without a sound, alert. The light flicker of a torch led him all the way through the darkness. A thousand questions escorted his progress as he wondered where Gimli might be. He only hoped, with all his heart, that the dwarf had not fallen to his death somewhere. His silent approach went unnoticed; not a sound filtered through the damp corridor until he emerged on the other side. Yet, what he found stole his breath away.