Into the West (A Lord of the Rings Fan Fic)

Chapter Eight

As the months passed by, Amaruil worried about Arwen; she could sense her friend becoming more and more troubled, and she knew that it was because of Aragorn – not a day passed by that Arwen did not watch over him from afar – but Amaruil also mourned her own loss, for she regretted allowing Legolas to leave when things stood so ill between them.

As time trickled on, Amaruil and Arwen began to feel the effects of Sauron’s shadow; he was gathering his armies again and starting to strengthen his power, and some Eldar were beginning to fear that he had the One Ring again.

“I do not believe that it can be so,” said Amaruil one day, “for surely if he did so his power would be even more increased than it is now, and he would not hesitate to attack.”

“We must hope that he does not,” Arwen replied, “for though we are safe here, that security may not last for long under his shadow.”

“It must be that it is so, for tidings fly of his spies searching ceaselessly. Though they spread fear and destruction we should at least be glad that he has not recovered it yet for, if he had, all hope would be lost.”

“We must hope that the Istari are able to defeat him then, and unite Ennorath against Sauron,” Arwen murmured.

“I have hope still if Mithrandir is fighting on our side,” smiled Amaruil wryly, “for no one is as wise as he, and he will protect the good in this world.”

Arwen nodded in agreement as she thought about Aragorn and wondered what he might be doing. “I fear that it will be a long and hard struggle though,” she murmured.

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Amaruil traced the silhouettes of the trees with her eyes as she sat on the grass, her back leaning against the smooth grey bark of a mallorn tree. She looked away from the horizon and up at the canopy which hung above her, her eyes following the delicate veins as the silvery underside of the leaves were tinged orange by the sinking sun.

As the evening drew inexorably towards night, Amaruil found herself thinking of Legolas yet again; she hadn’t realised just how much of a difference he had made to her life in the few fleeting months that she had known him.

Amaruil gazed at the inky black sky as her thoughts raced around in her head. She wasn’t sure when, but, at some point during the friendship which had developed over the past few months, the lines in her heart had been blurred and now she felt the beginnings of something more starting to warm her heart. Seeing Legolas had brightened her day and she inexplicably found herself wanting to be near him and to talk to him. She wasn’t sure whether that had counted as knowing that he was the one for her, but it had never been that way with anyone else. His every word, every laugh and every smile were like golden rays of sun which warmed Amaruil from the inside out and he seemed to understand her better than anyone else she knew.

As she thought about Legolas she pictured his light blue eyes, conjuring such a realistic image in her mind that it seemed as if she was really gazing into them. They began in the centre with a pale blue, like the sky as the evening draws towards sunset, which melded and merged beautifully into a deep sapphire blue until a ring, so dark that it was nearly black, rimmed the outside of his irises, and Amaruil was sure she had never seen anything so enchanting.

She chuckled quietly as she thought of their previous conversations, remembering the jokes that they had shared and the more serious discussions which they had had. It seemed to her that Legolas was exactly what she needed and exactly what she wanted and for once she was beginning to understand why Arwen would give up the life of the Eldar in return for a life with Aragorn.