Element of the Heart - A Lord of the Rings/Legolas Fanfiction

Chapter 17: Expectations

Legolas walked alongside Evangeline to a secluded area in the forest. Her inky black hair had been let down, shimmering in the moonlight like the night river. She wore the same modest traveling clothes as she did before, but they could not conceal her womanly figure. He cleared his throat and she stopped walking. He stared at the stars a bit, stalling for a while. He thought of the words she had said to him in the past few days. It was clear what she had thought of him: perfect, while all she saw in herself was her own imperfections. Galadriel had told him to trust; that it was the only way he would be able to conquer his problems. He had trusted Aragorn with some things, but not all, especially not with what he was currently struggling with.

He looked at Evangeline. Her lips were shut and her brows were slightly furrowed with worry. The fact that she cared – for Boromir, for Sam, and for Gimli – was what moved him to tell her. He wanted her to understand, but even more so, he secretly hoped for her assurance, and that maybe, somehow, this bit of truth would strengthen her trust in him.

"Is this about what I said?" she asked quietly.

"Yes and no, not really." He took a deep breath. They came to a stone bench, and he sat. She sat next to him, her hands folded on her lap and her eyes alert. Legolas continued, "You seem to think that you are the only one who feels failure."

She was silent.

"Ever since I was born, I have been a follower, never a leader, never becoming what a prince of Mirkwood was meant to be. I do not command armies. I do not run the palace. I do not send messages or seal letters. And as of now, my father believes I may be leaving Mirkwood for good."

"Then...he is upset with you?"

"He," he stopped, trying to figure out how to say it. "He would pass on the throne to someone else. And I would agree-"

"But how? How is this right?"

"Save that, if I did not leave, if the darkness of Mordor continues to spread, Mirkwood will no longer be. The trees themselves are beginning to die. Spiders will return. My father would prefer that I stay to protect our people and our home." At this point, he paused, closing his eyes. "I cannot go back without seeing this to the end. But I am afraid. I fear that if this does not come to end, I will have left my father, and Mirkwood for nothing."

"But you are protecting your people, Legolas! Do not regret the choices you have made. I do not understand why your father does not see it, nor why he is not alongside Adar, seeking the destruction of Sauron's weapon."

"He has not left Mirkwood. Only once when the dwarf king, Thorin, went to reclaim Erebor. I know the pain of my mother's death has never lessened within him. I think he still finds comfort in Mirkwood, where they married and lived."

His mother. Evangeline closed her eyes, unable to believe her ignorance. Years ago, at Mirkwood's ball, there was no Queen of Mirkwood to greet them. And I never cared to ask, never cared to wonder! "What happened to her?"

His eyes flashed blue. "She was killed in Mordor."

Evangeline did not know what to say. She could not comprehend how horrible it must have been for him to know that his mother had died at the hands of the enemy. Something stirred in her, something new that she had never felt before: vengeance. They will pay, she thought. They will pay for what they have done to the races, killing their loved ones and separating them/

Evangeline, come.

Galadriel! Evangeline stood up.

Legolas looked down. He did not realize that he had gone so far as to speak of his mother. He closed his eyes to hide his pain, shutting everything else out. Then, a slender, warm hand held onto his. He opened his eyes to find that she was still there.