Caught (a legolas fanfiction)

All must be told

Chapter 30

"Now, all must be told."

Aragorn put his hand up, an indication that he wished to speak. Galadriel and Celeborn nodded in his direction.

"Gimli and I can tell the tale of the Quest," he said. "For I am sure that you would all like to hear it, at long last."

Everyone nodded, and Aragorn began to tell the tale.

"Well, you all know the story of the council, and how the nine walkers were selected," Aragorn said, and everyone nodded. "There were myself, Gimli, Legolas, Boromir, Gandalf, Merry, Pippin, Sam, and Frodo, the ringbearer.

"We attempted to cross the path of Caradhras, but since the majority of our party couldn't walk atop the snow," he sent a meaningful glance in Legolas's direction. "So we were forced to take the mines of Moria.

"When we came in, we found all the dwarves that had lived there dead. The entire place was filled with orcs. There was a cave troll, which took, what, ten of Legolas's arrows to the head to kill? And then there was the balrog. Gandalf tried to defeat it, but in the end he was also dragged down into the depths of the mines with it. Then, we fled to Lothlorien.

"I should have seen it! I should have seen it!" Aragorn exclaimed, burying his head in his hands. "He came this close," he put his fingers about a half of an inch apart. "And I didn't even notice until you pointed it out, Galadriel."

Galadriel smiled sadly as she remembered the fateful day when the fellowship had arrived.

A group of nine travelers, blindfolded, were lead through the woods by Haldir. Galadriel watched them move, at an oddly loud volume to the ears of an elf, through the trees. She examined them one by one.

The hobbits were all walking close together, huddled in a small pack. She wondered at this. It was not cold, and there was nothing to fear here. Why were they so cautious and afraid?

The two humans were walking side-by-side in silence. The dwarf—she frowned in distaste—walked behind them, muttering under his breath.

The thing that struck her, however, was the elf that wandered through the woods next to Haldir, who was holding his hand and gently leading him. Everyone else was also being led by an elf, other than the dwarf, who appeared to have refused and instead held firmly onto one of the men's tunics.

The elf was, it seemed, dulled. He had shining hair and skin like porcelain, but he walked with a stride that made him look...nervous. He seemed unbelievably skittish, and she could see how tense his fingers were within Haldir's grasp. His features could have been beautiful, but he seemed so lost that she couldn't help but reach out to touch his mind to try and comfort him.

The moment she touched his mind, her head was filled with a myriad of emotions. She couldn't help the shock that registered on her face as she was filled with the despair, loss, sadness, and fear that filled his head.

It only lasted for a millisecond, however. He flinched away from her, his body actually jolting and his hand lurching out of Haldir's. The blindfold flew off of his face. His mind was suddenly closed off, and thick walls were surrounding it, holding all of his feelings inside.

"Do not touch me!" he growled, looking in her direction. And, was that tears in his eyes? She wanted to go and embrace him, comfort him, but she knew it wouldn't help.

"I apologize," she said, coming out of the cover of the trees with her escort. "I did not know that it would trouble you so."

"You may now remove your blindfolds," Haldir said, and the other members of the fellowship removed the coverings. They stared at her with a mixture of awe and fear.