Building Ithilien - Special Edition [Legolas]

I Fall off a Cliff

It's the 15th anniversary of my original fic "Building Ithilien," guys! Wow. It just seems like yesterday that I uploaded the first chapter on Fanfiction.net, feeling all geeky and nervous. As a thank you to all the wonderful LOTR fans, readers, and friends that I've made on this journey, I am publishing a new 'Special Edition' version of the original story.

It will be ALL Legolas 1st person POV (and there will be some other changes and surprises along the way.)

Don't ever tell the dwarf, but I'm not perfect. Far from it, actually. And this moment in my life was the perfect example of said non-perfection.

I made some erratically bad errors in judgment. Gimli would say that it was typical pointy-eared arrogance. My father would say I acted like a damn fool.

I was utterly alone, and the darkness drowned me. That night, foul with a pitch so black—it fought to consume me, swallow me whole, and if it did not, then my enemy would. I knew not who or what I faced, but I had seen first hand its grim trail.

My ears pricked to the low rumble of someone, some creature breathing, followed by a sharp crack, like wood being snapped. I dared not move from my position. I checked my peripheral vision. All seemed still, save my heart pounding in my chest. Panic and fear chased through my veins, raking my body with self-doubt and loathing. I was an idiot to have come alone.

Crack! An enormous pine slapped the earth. The ground shook as if lightning split the sky. Crack! Another tree whipped down, this time grazing my side. A few steps to the right over, and I would have been pulverized. The trees and the night thrummed in the rhythm of torture, a terrible drawing of breath, thick and sinuous. The breathing grew louder, each distinct thunderous breath. Whatever it was, it was coming closer.

I tightened my fingers on my bow, steady I told myself, and briefly rolled my shoulders back, a habit I used to calm my nerves before battle. I lightly released my fingers and squeezed the bow again. Calm returned, or at least a semblance of calm. I was ready.

I swung out from behind the tree, fitting an arrow to my bow and firing toward the breathing. I plastered myself against another tree, edging my way closer to the smell and the rustling sounds. In the inky night, I could see no more than my hand and bow in front of him. The ground pulsed beneath my feet. The horses whinnied, followed by the pounding of many hooves. They had stampeded. A muffled thump sounded from the trees, and then silence. The rank odor had vanished, and only the hot scent of fresh blood lingered. My body sagged involuntarily like an exhale when you know the worst is yet to come. I could not be sure the threat was gone until I swept the area.

I stepped into the clearing, weapon still in hand. All of the horses were gone, hopefully of their own volition. I could not blame them. If I had the slightest shred of intelligence at all, I would be with them. I knelt to the ground and then stood. It was too dark to check for any tracks of predators. That would have to wait until morning light. I moved steadily back to the tree line and the river where I had first heard the breathing. I was sure of one thing; the creature I encountered tonight was no ordinary wolf, bear, troll, orc, or anything thinkable.

I kept my guard up and stole back toward the river and trees. My eyes busily scanned the close-knit woods for any sign of movement. Scarcely looking at the ground before me, I stumbled over a fallen log. So much for elven grace. I scrambled toward my feet. Certainly, that log had not been there a moment ago. I ghosted my fingers along the coarse bark until I reached the breaking point of the tree. Almost as if someone had snapped the tree like a twig, the trunk broke off in jagged ends two feet above the ground. Glancing up, I noticed with a growing sense of dread four other trees broken at the base in the same manner. Deep gouges marked the trunks. I bent down to study them and then swallowed hard. The choking smell had returned.

My arms darted out to grab my bow when a hard jerk toward my chest sent me reeling toward the river. As I tumbled over the bank and fell, I drew my long, white knife, frantically slicing the open space before me. I struck something hard. It was too dark to tell what. Before I hit the river below, I found myself wondering if it was such a good idea to fall blindly into a ravine with a blade in one's hand...

...Plunging into the Anduin, I lost all sense of direction and flailed in the murky water. I had fallen into the river from great height, and my right shoulder slammed into a boulder on the way down, knocking the knife from my hand. The swift current of the Anduin rushed over me as I frantically searched for my weapon. The clouds still blotted out the moon. With my bow still on the riverbank above and my knife somewhere in the river, I was unarmed and alone.

A breeze gathered, parting the clouds, and a thin strip of moonlight reflected off the river. my knife! I grabbed for it, only an arm's length away. The handle felt warm and sticky. I held it up in the moonlight only to see that the blade dripped in gore.

When the clouds lifted completely from the moon, I saw red everywhere. Blood streaked my chest, torso, and my hands. My throat burned; I was going to be sick. My chest still throbbed from the hit I had taken, and my shoulder felt on fire. I stumbled toward the edge of the river, fighting the push of the current and the huge wave of nausea squeezing my throat.

Suddenly as before, a thick acrid odor assailed my nostrils. My enemy had returned. I pushed myself against a large outcropping of stones in the riverbed. I wished for my bow, but praise the Valar I found my knife in time. The smell and the sound of the creature's breathing grew stronger.

From behind the rock, I heard a guttural snarl, followed by ripping, flesh being torn from the bone. The water thrashed and swelled against my hiding place. Flecks of bone and flesh floated past me. The splashing stopped. I waited. I knew the beast still lingered. I could hear and smell its breath. I wondered if this was it for me. What an inglorious end—eaten in the river by an unseen monster. I rolled my shoulders back and gripped my knife.

How did it come to this?

I closed my eyes and tried to remember...

Author's note: So...readers, what do you think? Would you be interested in a remake of the original story? This is all very experimental and just me having fun with writing Legolas' character and inner voice...but if you like it and want to read another chapter, leave a comment letting me know! ❤️😘