Through Fire and Water (A Legolas Love Story)

The Night Before Tomorrow

It’s dark outside and the city is asleep. There was so much to do today that by the time Legolas and I finally found some time alone together the sun had mostly dipped below the horizon and by the time we were all caught up on what had happened since we saw each other last, it was a little too late for Legolas to go wandering off through the corridors of a place he’d never been to before today in search of his room, so I let him crash on my sofa.

It’s the middle of the night now and I can’t sleep. No matter how much I toss and turn my brain just isn’t switching off. As I lie here in the darkness my ears grow accustomed to the night time sounds: the whispering of the wind as it rustles the curtains; the creak of the timber bedframe every time I move; the rustle of Legolas’ blankets as he finds a better position and his gentle, steady breathing. Then suddenly there is another, new sound. Footsteps, soft and padded, like whoever is making them is trying to be quiet. I guess I’m not the only one who can’t sleep.

Since whoever it is is clearly trying to be quiet and avoid suspicion I feel a burning desire to follow them, partly to alleviate my midnight boredom and partly because I’m nosy. I swing my feet out of bed, the rest of my body following as I slip my feet into my boots. I grab my jacket from the end of my bed, pulling it on over my nightclothes and fastening it. I creep towards the door, trying not to make any noise that will disturb Legolas.

The corridor is lit with torches, although most of the torch holders are empty and only the occasional one holds a torch, leaving the hallway still quite dark. Just a little way down the hall is whoever it was I heard walking past, I can only see them from behind but it is unmistakably dad, the huge sword he carries in his hand is a fairly big giveaway of his identity. I quietly close my door behind me and duck into a decorative alcove on the opposite wall, letting him gain a little bit of a lead before emerging again and summoning all my sneakiness to follow him.

I trail after dad for a while, following him through the palace until eventually he arrives at the doors to the great hall. He gives a quick look from left to right before opening one of the huge hall doors and slipping inside. Once he’s disappeared inside I sprint towards the door, catching it just before it closes and slipping inside with the minimum noise. Once I’m inside I slip behind one of the statues, just as Aragorn turns around, looking suspiciously around. I press myself against my statue and hold my breath and peering round ever so slightly to see if he turns back around, which he does after a moment.

As he walks towards the throne at the end of the hall I scurry down the edge, running from statue to statue like a shadow. When he reaches the throne he stops, falling to his knees on the bottom step and pulling a cloth back off something. A sinister, incoherent whispering fills the hall although I can hear it much clearer in my head. I peer round the statue I’m hiding behind, watching with wide, half terrified half fascinated eyes as dad’s hand hovers over a black orb, identical to the one Saruman had. After a moment, his fingers close around the sphere and he brings his up to his face, eyes closed. When he opens his eyes the orb goes from black to fiery, a huge flaming eye in the centre. The whispering filling the hall grows louder and the eye invades my mind. He’s here, in the city. Father has brought him here, deliberately, he better know what he’s doing. I push the image of the eye out of my head and focus on dad instead, he’s speaking now.

“Long have you hunted me, long have I eluded you” he says, holding the orb at arm’s length and speaking directly to the Dark Lord within. “No more” he says, bringing his sword up to his face for Sauron to see “Behold the sword or Elendil”