A Silver Lining (Lord of the Rings) [Legolas]

XXI. Exile

XXI. Exile

            “I have not had to do this in all my years of reigning over Greenwood,” the king spoke as he paced at a snail pace before me. I kept my head bowed but my eyes focused on the Elf before me. “You are a unique incident. I let you stay here in hopes that my paranoia was all for nothing. But it was only a matter of time before something happened. From this day forth, you will be banished from Greenwood. If you should try to sneak your way back in, you will be captured and locked away until the day you die.

            “Fortunately for you, my son convinced me to allow you a horse on your journey. You should be very grateful for that.”

            “Believe me, I am,” I muttered.

            “You can go rejoin your Men and continue your trouble making elsewhere. Should you try and come onto our grounds, and should you pose a threat, the guards have the order to shoot to kill.”

            I refrained from lashing out, from showing the king how upset I was with him. I bet he wanted to see me upset, it would give him satisfaction. I kept a stone face, standing so straight my back began to hurt.

            “You are dismissed. You will be escorted to the gates where your steed will be waiting for you.”

            I felt the presence of the guards behind me. I did not fight, I did not talk back. I just merely walked in between them in silence. I could not suppress the feelings inside of me: outrage, sadness. I would truly miss not being able to return here, to never see Legolas again.

            I would never get to see Legolas and Nikita wed. I was sure the ceremony would be lovely. Still, in a way, it was better that I did not stick around. The ceremony could very well be the death of my heart and any hope I had of loving someone. Though I could never know Legolas as long as Nikita had, I still loved him. We were the unique case of knowing each other for a short time but connecting very well, almost as though we were destined to be matched from the day we were born.

            Love would have to be put on hold, because I would have to settle in a new area first. That is, if the Men did not find me or if I did not die in the wilderness.

            Thalias lifted my mood slightly upon seeing him. He looked in good health, perky, the complete opposite of how I looked and felt. At least he could provide me some company. I could never travel with Halian at my side, because I assumed she was dead by this point—that the assassin got to her.

            I held the tears back. I did not want the guards to see me cry.

            Thalias wasn’t tacked, so I assumed Legolas told the king about my bareback rides. One of the guards kept Thalias steady, though he would do so without the aid of them. I jumped onto his back, settling myself in. I did not look back as I squeezed his sides.

            It was like Thalias knew it broke my heart to leave Greenwood, or maybe he did not want to leave either, because he took the slowest gait possible out of the gates of Greenwood. We were going to be plunged back into the forest, the forest that possibly still had Giant Spiders lurking in it. The forest that would drive many insane who lost the Elven path that led to Greenwood.

            Thalias, I hope your mind is not affected by the magic in this forest, otherwise we will lose our minds and die in here. Thalias was my only hope of getting out of the forest.

            I gave him a light kick, enough for him to break out into a trot. It was only then that I let the tears fall.