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"Who's Luna?" Aragorn began and Celine had immediately gotten the feeling that it is the official start of the man's endless list of questions for the night.
The bluenette decided to get herself comfortable if she is to stay in a single position for a long time. Opting to take a seat instead of standing, she pulled herself up to sit on the railings even when Aragorn made an attempt to pull her back in and off of the dangerous position she had just placed herself in.
"Is this it?" She began, raising a brow at the man in askance, tilting her upper body a bit to what could've been a deadly fall should she accidentally let go of her hand's grip on the rails just to wind Aragorn up.
The man's frown deepened and it somehow managed to cease the girl's careless movements, "Is this what, exactly?" He asked after a few beats. Leaning his back against the rails and staring up at her, he realized that the tales were indeed precise with their description that her hair is the embodiment of the midnight sky on Middle Earth.
Catching him staring, it didn't really take the girl to realize that he was pondering about the tales that were told about her and her participation in The Battle of the Five Armies, "Well, if you were listening well enough then you should know just who Luna is." She tilted her head a bit to inspect him.
This seemed to annoy the ranger in a minimal scale, "I know that she is your tiger. What I do not know is why Legolas seemed to be quite persistent in knowing where she is." He sighed in frustration because he seemed to make little sense out of it.
Normally, the elf never really seemed to care much about anything at all besides from their quest and doing whatever he can do for his comrades.
Anything other than the fact that his only hobby is archery, Aragorn couldn't really list down any more potential fascinations that the elf has -except for the tiger named Luna, that is.
"He was fond of her." She answered, trying not to delve too much on the memory of the elven prince skipping meetings just to accompany both herself and Luna on walks. Tries hard not to remember the three of them resting underneath one particular apple tree and Legolas shooting some of the fruit down for them to eat, or how ridiculously endearing and lost the elf looked like when she first offered to teach him how to ride the tiger.
'Horses and tigers are completely different creatures, dear prince. Note that beyond that, Luna is also completely different from other tigers. Thus, the nonnecessity for reigns.'
Legolas looked shocked beyond description, his blue eyes sparkling in wonder and apprehension as he mounted the large beast with all the grace of an elfling who's taking his first steps.
'How do I pull her towards the right direction then?'
'You seemed to have forgotten that as I have said, Luna is different from ordinary creatures. Even though she could not speak, she had been given the gift of understanding her rider's will as well as the Elvish language.'
'Sindar or Silvan?'
'Both'
And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't entirely block the dazzling smile she saw in her mind's eye no matter how faded the picture seemed to look from long ago.
Fingers snapping in front of her face pulled her back and out of the suffocating memories.
"You were dazing off." Aragorn stated matter-of-factly, his blue eyes intent on her. Without receiving any reply, he pushed through, "You said was. Did anything happen that made Legolas lose his fondness for Luna?"
"You know quite well that that isn't the case, Aragorn. If it was, then Legolas wouldn't come to me searching for her," she then chanced a sideways look at him as she snickered at the confused look he wore, "Do not think that I do not know you were eavesdropping on our conversation earlier." Turning to him fully at this, she could see the slight look of embarrassment spread throughout his stubbled and worn features.
Celine shook her head after some time, the entertainment of seeing the look of unease on Aragorn's face gradually wearing off. Turning back to look at the skies, she eventually answered,
"She's dead." Her voice was grim when she spoke. The tone she used low and lifeless as if she had literally lost a part of her when it happened. The tough and unphased front she pulled up not quite doing the best of jobs at the moment.
Aragorn froze in his spot, "Luna?" His brows furrowed, sensing that 60 years of grievance was still not enough and that the mourning is still near up until now.
The girl nodded, her composure slowly crumbling down to her feet. She had always been like this whenever the topic of Luna was brought up. Which is also the main reason why she refused to speak of it in front of the elf.
It was already enough that he saw me cry because of him once.
I have no intentions of doing it a second time. .
Especially not now.
Unaware of the inner conflict that she was facing and way too caught up with his own intrigue, the Dunedain pressed on, "And Legolas didn't know?"
This caused a bitter laugh to escape the bluenette's trembling lips, "Of course he didn't. How would he? It was the least of his problems." Shaking her head and clenching her fists around the poor metal rails, she continued "Besides, he never really cared." Her voice betraying her by cracking in the end.
Aragorn allowed himself a deep breath, "So there had been something." He looked down at the girl with gentleness in his eyes, tilting his head down a bit as he searched the thin curtains of blue for her lilac hues.
Another shake of the head, "Who said there had been anything?" She practically spat out, lavender eyes turning to glare at him. The anger in them unfaltering even through the tears of pain that shone like clear bright diamonds sat atop glimmering amethyst gems.
"Your actions are steadfast in denying it yet your emotions prove otherwise. I know the pain caused by heartache when I see it, there's no disowning such deep a cut like one that had gone through the heart." He spoke softly, rising a hand up to lay a comforting hand on her shoulder, "I am no stranger to that pain. But I can see that you have gone through worse, Celine." The Dunedain could feel his own chest clenching as he saw more of the droplets falling from one bowed head, it doubled when he saw the smaller body visibling shaking from restrained tears.
A frustrated little growl escaped her lips as she felt herself shatter once more, "Why?!" She felt like punching something but the tremulous state her body was in limited her movement to pathetically clutching the railings and doubling over, "Why does it hurt so much? Why do I have to always be reminded of the damned past I was trying to forget?" She looked up at him with a glare, still refusing to succumb entirely to pain and resorting to blaming him for reminding her instead.
Yes, it's better to let anger take control of it. It feels less excruciating that way.
"Maybe it was because you were never meant to forget it in the first place?" The Dunedain barely resisted the urge to wrap this now fragile little girl in his arms, "Maybe it was because a part of those memories you are trying to forget are the most precious ones that you had kept in your heart? And I know you know that when you engrave something in your heart, it will be there forever." His voice was soft and his eyes glazed over as if he was speaking from experience.
Celine finally allowed herself a pathetic little wail as she punched the man's sturdy chest, "And that's exactly why I hate it! What is there left for me to linger in the past anyways?!" She yelled, not caring about anyone hearing them anymore. Rising a hand to her chest, she went on,
"Besides from having my heart torn over and over again with memories of a love that had and never will be requited! Do you know how hard it is becoming for me to hear my own heart beating now?" She never really had this much urge to tear her own heart out of her chest before now,
"Knowing that I had carelessly engraved this torturous love's name out of blind dedication and admiration that had never been returned. That I had brought this apparent doom upon myself all because of loving a person who would never even look my way!" Her voice was hoarse from all the shouting she had been doing, all the foreign strain her throat is currently enduring. Never had she completely lost control to anger like this before.
And then she was on her knees clutching the hem of the ranger's tunic for dear life. Her eyes blinded by tears and her ears deafened by her thudding heartbeat along with her muffled cries and her quivering broken form.
The ranger instantly caught her in his arms and joined her on the floor.
"If every single beat of this forsaken heart would only remind me of how much I still love him, I would give everything for this heart to finally cease beating." She whispered, laying her head on Aragorn's shoulder as she let the rest of the tears fall, exhaustion finally threatening to claim her.
"You are strong for being able to keep all of these storming emotions to yourself for so long." He pressed his cheek against her head as he held her closer, "It must have been hard."
Left with nothing else to say, Celine allowed herself to bask in the comfort the Dunedain was offering.
"But do you know what hurt the most?" She spoke after awhile, still on the floor with her hands curled on the fabric of the man's tunic, looking up at him with tired eyes from underneath her lashes.
Shaking his head, he freed one of his hands that was cradling her close to him and used it to tuck a stray strand of blue behind her ear, patiently waiting for the answer that eventually came.
"It was seeing him get hurt because of the person he loves or for any other reason when all I ever wanted for him to do is to smile and live in bliss.
Even if I'll have to die over and over for it."
And with a final shuddering breath, she fell unconscious and succumbed to a sleep induced by overwhelming pain.
Aragorn could feel himself clench his own eyes shut as he helplessly shook his head and moved himself towards one of the many stone walls in the balcony.
"You truly are selfless..." He sighed.
Upon opening his eyes, he was met with the figure he had been expecting to emerge from the shadows, "I would have asked you why you preferred to linger in the shadows but we both know that I already knew you were there,
Legolas."
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"Shall I help you get her to bed?" The elf offered, trying not to give any of his unsorted feelings away.
Aragorn only shook his head at this, "Help me settle her in a comfortable position here instead." As he made a move to lay her head on his lap.
Legolas sent him a frown at this, "Leaving her out here at this time of the night would not be wise."
"Whoever said a thing about me leaving?" The Dunedain rose a brow at him that the prince was still yet to tell whether it was the ranger challenging him to do something or entirely something else, "I will stay." He announced "With her." And the fond look that crossed his face when he looked down at her had been entirely unintentional.
Legolas blinked, once, twice, before moving out of stunned silence and managing a feeble, "I see..."
"You could take my place you know." The man offered, sending his friend smile that was both knowing and rueful on his weathered features.
The ellon only shook his head as he helped settle the girl's body in the most comfortable position one could get on the floor. Once done, he took his cloak off and gingerly laid it over her seemingly vulnerable form before standing up.
"She deserves to see the sky when she wakes up." He mused and returned the knowing look his friend had sent him earlier.
Aragorn only shook his head,
"All she needs to see is her moon, Legolas. She is not asking for much. One could give her the world and she would not be the least closer to being happy if it would not be you."
Blond brows draw together at this as a stern look settled on one perfectly sculpted face, "I am only trying to protect her, Aragorn."
This caused a very displeased look to fall over the ranger's face, "Well, do you see what your protection is doing to her?" He paused and prompted the elf to answer -which he doesn't- and so he goes on, "It's slowly killing her. Is that what you want? And who are you protecting her from anyway?"
It took a few beats for Legolas to compose himself and answer, "Myself."
"Yourself?!" Aragorn was beyond enraged at the reason he was given and had he not been pinned to place by the girl that is sleeping on his lap, he swears to the Valars that he might have just punched the elf on the gut that very instant.
Piercing blue eyes narrowed down at the Dunedain as if desperately willing him to understand, "You know elves could only fall in love once during their lifetime."
"And you know that Celine is neither of the race of men or the elves, she obviously isn't a dwarf but she lived this long without aging. She was a priestess yet she also get to be a swordsmaster and lives to be both. Everything about her defies all rules." Aragorn countered, his own glare at the elf intensifying. He could only take so much of the blond archer trying to defend his own emotional instability.
"What are you trying to say?"
"Take your leap of faith, Legolas. She loved you long enough to deserve your trust. Allow yourself to fall."
And with that, Aragorn tipped his head towards the dark blue skies and closed his eyes, leaving the elf to his thoughts.
But it wasn't his own thoughts that bothered him that night. But rather, a memory of a past and a future that would be.
-----☆To be continued