In One Day, I Promise (Legolas FanFic)

6. Hornburg

I glared at this so called 'prince'. Important and bombast epithets didn't amuse me, and I saw nothing noteworthy in referring to him as 'prince' I glowered at him darkly, my annoyance must've shown on my face. It annoyed me the way he told me he was taking me to Helm's Deep. Do I have no say? Can I not go my own way? Apparently not, I am destined to be someone's play-thing all the time, I fall asleep and awaken and the world has moved on, leaving me behind.

My world had just fallen apart- theoretically and genuinely. The place I had called 'home' had just collapsed into rubble, my father figure was probably dead, or had fled, before he went making sure that I knew that he didn't care for me. He abandoned me to my death, and into the hands of this sweet-talking stranger.

He offered his hand to me, trying to get me to stand up. I shook it off, and stood up wearily, only wobbling slightly. We began the long trek that would make me realise that I had more energy than I realised, as it took is a near three hours to catch up with the parade of people Legolas had been convoying with. I stumbled blindly most of the way, the prairie-type grasslands spanning miles in every direction, Orthanc now a black line along a colourful canvas that was Middle-Earth.

We walked for what seemed like years, as my legs grew wearier with every step. I wanted to ask this Elven Prince to slow down, but I bit my tongue against what little pride I had retained. We trudged on, Legolas kept a decent distance ahead of me, but close enough that if ever I tried to run, he would need little effort to catch me again. Or kill me.

The night I had spent in the forest seemed to have dulled my injuries, and I know realised that falling from a tower such as Orthanc into the hands of Orcs was never going to leave you unscathed. My ribs seemed to creak, and a dull throbbing sensation grew in the back of my head. Overall, I was still grateful that I had survived, but perspective wasn't granted to me then, and wallowing in self-pity seemed like the much easier solution.

As we ploughed on, I felt a dark wave of sorrow creeping up over me, the pain of what had happened and the realisation that if I died right here and right now, no one would know I had ever existed. True, Legolas would, but he would just walk on and never think of me again. Gandalf might remember me, but he had never come back, never asked about me, never saved me from the impending doom and destruction that loomed over Orthanc. I would die, my name would die, my soul would die, my legacy- little as it was- would die. I would be forgotten, left the rot away into the ground, until I became the grass that grew that the wargs pissed on.

I was lost in self-wallowing that I nearly walked into Legolas, as he had stopped atop a small ridge. I looked over his shoulder, and saw a party over hundreds of people. My heart quickened, as I had never seen this many people before, all of whom looked like me.

"Wait here." Legolas said, and I nodded slightly, as I glanced through my eyelashes at Legolas.

For the first time, I looked properly at him. Not the sweeping gaze I had looked at him before with, but I stared at him, taking in his every feature, every curve of his face, every fleck in his eyes. His blonde hair was paler than I had originally thought, and compared with the people who stood before me, it was nearly white.

I also noticed that his hair was longer than the other men's, and much neater too- almost as though winds couldn't flay a hair of its place. His jaw was defined and square in shape, but not severe as though malnourished, and his skin was smooth and pale, and bore no callouses nor scarring. His jawline extended to an elegant flick in his pointed ears, like the tail of the writing I would gaze it in the books of old Middle-earth. But the most prominent feature of his face were his eyes- they were the colour of dark forget-me-nots, a soft blue in most light, but in the dimming light, a cold and icy pallet, the colour nearly unwavering, with barely no flecks of any other colour besides the lagoon-blue.