You and Aragorn walked side-by-side the next day, as the Fellowship, led by Gandalf, began to scale Caradhras, the tallest of the Misty Mountains. It was covered with powdery snow that got deeper and deeper as you went on, until only your head was above the snow (Aragorn, Boromir and Gandalf still had their shoulders visible), though Legolas walked upon it with ease.
Legolas walked ahead quickly, planting his feet and shielding his eyes so he could see through the harsh winds of snow.
"It is growing harsher and colder!" he yelled, his musical voice somehow carrying over the howls of the wind. "We must find shelter."
"There is nowhere!" you shouted back, noting with an internal 'aww' that his ears pricked up like a puppy's to hear you talk. "We must continue onwards!"
As you said that, a deep rumble sounded, making you all look up in confusion as a chanting voice joined the sound of an ...
"Avalanche!" Aragorn yelled, pulling you to his side and trying to shield your smaller body as best he could, which made your heart warm with appreciation for your 'brother'.
"It is Saruman!" Gandalf yelled as the first lot of snow missed the overhang you all hung behind.
He began to chant back, but Saruman was too powerful and a second load of snow dumped upon all of you, burying you beneath its cold hands.
You felt Aragorn falling back, out of reach as all you could see now was snow. A lot of snow. You began to breathe unhealthily quickly, panicking. How were you to get out?
Suddenly, a pale hand shoved through all the white. You put yours into it and you were pulled out of the snow by Legolas.
"Thanks," you gasped, re-evaluating your decision to be rude to him.
"There is no route here!" Gimli roared angrily. "Let us go through the Mines of Moria."
You had to admit, the King's welcome he had promised sounded quite appealing in the bitterly cold snow, and the Mines were also a convenient shortcut.
Gandalf seemed very against this idea, and you feared his reasoning, but he replied, "Let the Ringbearer decide."
All eyes looked to Frodo, who's face was red with cold, his eyes uncertain and undecided. Eventually, he said, "We shall go through the Mines."
Gandalf bowed his head in resignation, but you knew at this point it was either be crushed by Saruman or go through the Dwarven tunnels.
Gimli led the way this time, being more familiar with the way than anyone else in the fellowship.
Finally you escaped the bitter wind, stumbling into a cavern of some sort, with a looming wall that was ... completely blank.
"The Doors must be around here somewhere," Gandalf muttered to himself, tapping random parts of the wall with his staff. You stood back and sat on a rock as far away from the sludgy waters at your back as possible. Ten people all standing around the one stone wall would do no one any good.
It appeared someone else had the same thought as you as you saw a pair of brown boots cross into your vision where you were staring at the floor. Looking to the side, you found that Legolas was sitting less than a stick's-length away from you.
"Hello, melleth," he said. "Are you well?"
"Why would I not be?" you asked. There was no anger or judgement in your tone - you were genuinely oblivious.
He chuckled slowly. "Y/N, you were buried beneath more than just a few centimetres of snow. It is very cold for humans in the Misty Mountains."
Somehow, you knew he intended this not to be an insult, but instead just concern for his human friend. You glanced down at your arms, pushing up the sleeves of your sage tunic to look at your s/c skin. There were no bumps along your arms, no sign that you'd gotten cold at all. Much like Legolas, in fact, who was looking as pure and unblemished as always.
Pure? Unblemished? Y/N, you fucking idiot ...
"I guess I don't feel the cold as much," you laughed nervously, playing off your inner rant and your slight concern at 'why the fuck am I not cold, is this a problem?'. "You, uh, don't seem to be feeling it either."
Legolas laughed, more care-freely than before - a clear sound that was both light and deep at once. "I am an elf, Y/N. I am quite different to humans. Here -" he unbuttoned his green cloak and draped it over your shoulders. "- in case you do start to get cold."
You reached for your shoulders, about to refuse Legolas's gift, but you halted. Why were you shutting him out again? You lowered your hands into your lap and whispered, "Thank you."
The elf just smiled, and withdrew his fingers from where they'd been lightly resting over your shoulders as he'd finished buttoning the clasp. His slight smile had dropped to a confused frown in an instant, you noticed as you looked to him, making you concerned as well.
"Legolas? What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong," he assured you, waving two fingers as he often did (probably subconsciously) when he was thinking. "Your ears are just quite ... elf-like. I've never seen a human with such features."
"Is that bad?" you couldn't stop yourself from letting the words slip out, letting your hair fall to cover the offending feature.
"Of course not," Legolas said, returning to smiling. "It's beautiful."
You blushed, and had to look away from Legolas's penetratingly blue eyes so he didn't see the mess of emotions swirling around them. "Thank you."
You both snapped up your heads suddenly as an almighty rumble sounded through the cavern. The doors were opening, but even as you started towards them you felt a prickle on the back of your neck.
"Legolas!" you shouted, turning.
The elf had needed no warning - he too had sensed the danger behind you. It was the Watcher in the Water: a horrifying mess of tentacles and slime, but large and frightful.
Legolas shot arrow after arrow, but they seemed to make little impact. You hacked off tentacles with Aragorn at your side, flipping around your sword with a practiced ease, but for every one you cut off, three more seemed to swing towards you and attempt to wrap around you.
The Watcher was smart, and before you realised what it was doing, two of its tentacles recoiled, reaching into the water and emerging again with a jagged rock, which it hurled at you with blinding speed - too fast for you to react.
You tried not to show your pain as it made a deep slice in your arm, but you had to let out a hiss, clutching it tightly as Aragorn screamed, "Fall back into the Mines!"
Everyone made a mad dash for the doors, and you winced as you felt your long h/c hair get occasionally pulled on and your wound jostled. The door slammed behind you (by who's doing, you knew not), and you spent a couple gasps of breath in petrifying darkness, eventually penetrated by some light from Gandalf's staff.
You saw Aragorn perform a quick head count, sighing as he reached the number ten under his breath.
Suddenly, Legolas grabbed your arm and pulled you roughly into his side, you stumbling over the rocky floor and ending up pressed against the side of his chest with one of his arms wrapped around you and unintentionally squeezing your wound. You were very confused, to say the slightest, but then grateful as a large chunk of rock fell from the ceiling right to where you'd been standing.
As glad as you were for the fact Legolas had just saved your life, his grip had been tight, and this time a small whimper passed your lips. You immediately wanted to push it back, hating how weak showing pain would make you seem before these men.
"Y/N, are you alright?" Legolas asked, releasing you with clear concern in his expression.
"I'm fine," you replied, gritting your teeth as another sear of pain struck your arm.
"You are not," the elf said firmly, gently taking your arm again and rolling up the sleeve. He paled when he saw the gash. "Valar, Y/N. Why did you not tell anyone?"
You stared down at the trickle of bright red blood making its way down and dripping onto the stone in ominous puddles, not wanting to just blurt out 'because it would make me seem weak and I hate seeming weak and then Aragorn would say some shit about 'go back to the Dunedain lands Y/N' and I can't have that because I'm here without permission'. "It is not so bad."
Legolas scoffed, whispering low under his breath in Sindarin as he brought a small bandage from his pocket and wrapped it around your arm tightly. "Whatever you say."
You giggled, feeling the fabric lightly. "Thank you, Legolas."
Aragorn rolled his eyes. "We must continue. Y/N, stop flirting. Legolas," he shook his head, though a grin was creeping onto his face. "An ngell nîn, daro." For my happiness, stop.
You cackled at that as the tall elf flushed deeper than you did, and your brother turned to lead you deeper into the Mines of Moria.
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