The Forbidden Child

The Fellowship is Broken

When Lessien woke up, she was running an intense fever.

Then things started coming together in her mind.

The fight with the orc was what she remembered best because she had been astounded that what she had tried had worked. It had saved her life. Was this a talent that other elves possessed and she had just left unattended? She had no idea.

But then the rest came back.

Boromir was dead.

All of the hobbits had been whisked away.

That meant Sam too.

And she was so exhausted that she couldn't even manage the tears. Instead, she slipped back into unconsciousness.

"This is my fault. I should've made sure she was behind me. I should've covered her. We all should have listened to her. She knew what was coming. I don't know how, but she did. And we just ignored her," Legolas said to them all.

Aragorn glared at him.

He was right about one thing.

He should have been there.

Instead of saying anything, Aragorn tended to Lessien. Kneeling beside her, he stroked her head. Unbinding her knee, he shook his head at how her leg was looking.

It was not in good shape.

But she was alive.

-

Legolas leant against a tree and gazed at the stars, guilt burdening him. Thoughts of home came to mind. But most of them were about Lessien, who breathed shallowly on the sandy shore.

The sky was adorned with thousands of jewels on the blue velvet sky. One huge moon shone bright, illuminating all of their faces and turning the river to a milky colour.

"Legolas?"

It was Gimli who spoke.

"Yes, Gimli."

"I think that she loves you," Gimli whispered.

Legolas didn't reply at first but instead glanced over at the sleeping Lessien.

"Maybe," he whispered to himself. He stretched out and pondered the day. The deaths and captures. The wounds and victories.

And then it registered, something Lessien had whispered to him in a dream.

"And the Fellowship was broken," he whispered to the air. His warm voice rose plumes of mist into the freezing night.

And so it was.