Building Ithilien [Legolas] LOTR

To Battle

The sun had not yet risen, but the stars dimmed in the skies, and a pale line edged the eastern hills. The king of Gondor moved quietly down the empty corridors with a single purpose in mind-- to roll his friend from Mirkwood out of bed while he still slept. It was a long-standing joke between the two old friends to try and wake the other as abruptly as possible. Aragorn figured that once he had the pleasure of startling Legolas awake, he and the elf could talk over their plans for Calenfen. Perhaps he could even persuade Legolas to talk about what Aragorn had glimpsed last night in the garden.

He arrived at the elf's stateroom and opened the door as slowly as humanly possible, so as not to make any unnecessary noise. Elves were known to be light sleepers, and Legolas was no exception to the rule. In fact, Aragorn was rarely successful in his endeavors to catch him off guard. So with an anticipatory grin, Aragorn crept into the dimly lit room. What he found when his eyes adjusted to the darkness made him stop short in his path, for there was Legolas, sound asleep. Now that alone would not have caused the king of Gondor to back silently toward the door with his mouth hung open in astonishment. For there also lay a sweetly sleeping maiden, her bare back gleaming in the moonlight, and her head rested on the prince's chest with Legolas' arm protectively encircling her waist.

Aragorn could not see her face, but he knew who she was. With that shock of golden curls, she could only be Miredhel, the very one he had seen Legolas kissing last night. The man smiled to himself as he stepped back into the hall. Legolas' propensity for keeping things to himself would never cease to amaze Aragorn. Of course, the king had suspected his friend of possessing feelings for her after their conversation yesterday on the upper walls of the city, but it was still a bit of a surprise to find her in the elf's bed. Either Legolas was a fast mover in his courtships, or there was much he had concealed from Aragorn in regard to his relationship to Miredhel. Aragorn shook his head as he pulled the door shut and padded back down the hall.

On the other side of the wall, Legolas stirred as his keen ears discerned a slight click that sounded very much like the latch on his door. He raised his head, careful in his efforts not to disturb his lover. The notion that Aragorn might try and wake him suddenly occurred to the prince, and tensing, he pulled the coverlet over Miredhel's exposed back. He waited, watching the door to his chamber, but nothing happened, and the elf relaxed. After all, Aragorn could try all he wanted to, but it would be a rare day when a man could sneak up on an elf!

Legolas pulled Miredhel closer and wrapped both his arms around her as he had done only hours earlier when she had confessed her love for him. He could hardly believe that she was truly his. The prince had taken lovers before, but none had spoken to his heart as the one resting beside him. Being with her was like nothing he had ever known.

Legolas had sought physical comfort after the war in Lierwen, but he had changed and so had she. It felt unsatisfying and cold for both parties, even though they did care for each other. Legolas knew that the war had changed him, aged him. His spirit had been tried many times through hardship and suffering. No longer could he lightly love, and so his relationship with Lierwen ended. He needed much more than a warm body beside him. Legolas wanted someone to help shoulder his pains and share in his joy, a lover who understood him for what he was, not as Prince Legolas or the Legolas of the Fellowship, but just as Legolas the elf. Perhaps it was intrinsically greedy of him to want more, especially when he had so many willing supplicants for the position, but Legolas longed for a lover that would wake beside him in his darkest nights, who would know his fears and failings, and love him all the same.

It did not take him long to discover that Lierwen was not the one. She was light-hearted, radiant, and good above all things, but she was also superficial and naive to a fault. She knew nothing of real suffering or the pain of battle, and Legolas could not bring himself to tell her these things. He left Mirkwood that summer convinced that the Valar intended him to live out his days on Middle Earth in loneliness and solitude.