XXIV. Out of the Shadows
“Your actions have not gone unnoticed, Nim.” I felt a feather-light touch on my hand. “People are still talking about your bravery.” She snorted a laugh. “I wish I was as half as brave as you are.”
I smiled, Halian gasped. She knew I was awake now. I quickly lost the smile, kind of hoping she would believe her eyes played tricks on her.
“You cannot keep up that act, Nim. I saw you smile. Open your eyes.”
The first coherent thought that came to mind was that I was back in my old room in Greenwood. Halian was at my bedside, offering me a warm welcome-back smile. She rubbed my hand for comfort.
“Welcome back,” she murmured. “How are you feeling?”
“Awake.” Halian laughed. “I lost consciousness?”
Halian’s face fell. “You were losing so much blood; I followed the prince all the way to the healers. You left a blood trail on the floor; we were scared that you would bleed dry by the time you got help.” She swallowed. “The healers took hold of you and bandaged your back. They plan to give you remedies so that the wound will not scar nor will the ones on your face from the whip.”
I tenderly touched the thin lines on my face. Struck at a few times with a whip and then nearly cut in half by a sword. What an eventful day I had.
“How long have I been asleep?” I began to sit up slowly.
“Not long, it is morning of the next day. I have been in here watching you since you were brought in here.”
“You watched me sleep?” I asked in mock horror. “You stalk me, Halian.”
She burst into a furious giggle. “I am glad to see your spirit is still intact.”
“What happened after the attack?”
“If you keep asking questions, you will overwhelm her.”
Our heads turned to the entrance to see Legolas had come to visit. I felt my cheeks heat up almost instantly. Halian hid a snicker behind her hand.
“You can tell me what happened, then,” I told him.
“Do you mind, Halian?” Legolas asked her.
“I can handle her questions, though, my prince, honest!” she pleaded.
“I do not think you have slept since she has been in bed. Go rest.”
Between Legolas’ stare and mine, Halian caved in to the pressure. Before she left, she bowed before her prince. I sighed through my nostrils.
“There is so much that I want to say,” he began awkwardly, not meeting my eyes. “I owe you a massive apology, Nimalia, for not believing you. I trusted that you would never do such a harmful thing, but now that I have thought about it, Nikita’s magic had some hold over me. It explains why I did not feel as in love with her as I did with you. What we had was real, what she and I had had been conjured up with her magic.”
“You mean is,” I corrected him.
“I am sorry?”
“You make it sound as though our bond was destroyed, it was not.” I smiled timidly. “We are in the same room and speaking, so I would say we still have a connection.”
“You do not understand how terrible I feel about all of this. It was right in front of us, but you and Halian were the only ones who knew what was true.”
“She had us all fooled until Halian discovered the truth.” I shrugged. “If she had not, I doubt anyone would have figured it out.”
“She is intelligent, that one.” He smiled to himself. He approached my bedside. “How is your back?”
“I must have something numbing it, because it is not bothering me.” I scowled. “I will feel the pain soon enough.”
“You have felt enough for a hundred beings, Nimalia.” I leaned into his touch as he put a hand on my face. “It is time you stopped feeling pain and felt other things.”
“Did any Men survive?”
“Yes, and those that did are locked away with Nikita. They will never leave Greenwood even if they claim to have changed while they spent time in the dungeons.”
“I am sorry that you found out about Nikita in that way.” I sniffed. “It must have been hard on you.”
“It was. It hurt me to injure her, but I had to. I was not going to let her get away with murdering you.”
“I think you have seen enough dead bodies for forever,” I mused. “How many guards were…?”
“Nimalia, I would rather not think about that right now,” Legolas said gently. The bed sunk in as he finally decided to sit down. “If you are up to it, my father seeks an audience with you whenever is most convenient for you.”
“How is he?”
“He is well; he did not suffer any injuries.”
“Did you?”
“Only scratches.” He smiled thinly. He rested his forehead on mine. “He is not happy about my feelings for you, though. He had not been when I had been with Nikita. It is the matter of our statuses.”
“Figures.” I blew out a noisy breath.
“But, maybe your actions have changed his mind about us.”
“Us? Legolas, we are not a couple.” I giggled. “I would love to be, but you are technically married to Nikita.”
“That is already getting taken care of. Though most bad endings would require alone time to help the healing process, this one is different. Being with someone I know I love will help me, just as I am sure it will help you heal as well.”
“I promise I do not hold any magic inside of me,” I said playfully.
“I know there are no tricks when it comes to you, Nimalia.”
“For the love of the Valar, just kiss her already!”
I rolled my eyes playfully. Legolas looked a bit upset, which he had every right to be. Halian just ruined the moment by announcing her presence, even if she was outside of the room.
“Go to your room, Halian,” I called outside. “Do not force me to get a guard to escort you.”
Once we were sure Halian had no intentions on circling back here, I could only laugh at her.
“She has been putting us together from the time I met her,” I told him. “She never liked Nikita.”
“She has good instincts.” Legolas chastely kissed me. “Your life will never see darkness again, Nimalia, I am sure of it.”
“Why do you say that?”
“As long as I am at your side, no further harm will come to you.”
* * *
I should have felt proud of myself for technically saving Greenwood. Still, when I was before the king, whatever pride I had vanished. His piercing gaze could render any soul intimidated. He did not seem as intimidating now, though.
“I see you are healing well,” he noted.
“You have excellent healers,” I stammered. “What did you want me for, Your Majesty?”
“I have quite a bit to talk with you about, little one.” I am not a child, I thought bitterly. “No being has ever had the audacity to try and overthrow a king and his heir and become successful. It is something you hear about very little, and it is an even rarer sight to behold. I had my suspicions when you and Nikita came to Greenwood. I focused on the wrong one for too long, allowing her to get by my watch.
“I do not do this often, because I have rarely had the need to. I owe you an apology, Nimalia, for being so blind to the obvious that you were being framed.”
“It fooled a lot of us,” I said coolly.
“You should have been locked away on sight, since I banished you from here. But given the circumstances of your return, that did not happen. That is another thing I need to address. Since you helped in saving everyone at the wedding, your banishment is revoked. You are more than welcome to stay in Greenwood for as long as you wish.”
“It wasn’t just me, Your Highness, who solved the mystery.”
“Ah, yes. Halian.” He smiled thinly. “I have yet to speak with her, she did not want to part from you while you were unconscious.” I blushed. “Perhaps she could become someone of high usefulness for me.”
“While we are on the subject of her, I would like to ask your permission for her to leave if she chooses to.”
“That is a bold request.”
“She has deserved some time away. I know she is not bound by the law to remain here, but I figured it was better to ask you than to get her into trouble.”
“When the time comes for her to leave, I will grant her the privilege. There is also the matter of your attachment to my son.”
Oh no, here we go.
“It does not take someone with magic to sense something between you two. With you and him, it is almost a natural connection that was destined for you both. Do not think this means that I am warmed up to the idea of my son seeing someone who is not royalty. I only came to accept Nikita because of her influential magic. You are a different case, Nimalia.”
“So, in a way, you do accept it, but you are not fond of the idea,” I concluded. The king said nothing, so I assumed I was right. “Your Highness, with all due respect, I think your say in it does not hold much value like it would have ages ago.” I exhaled heavily. “Truthfully, how much royal blood is left here in Middle-earth? You can try to keep a purely royal line in the family all you want, but the window for that is fading.”
This was utterly embarrassing, talking about my relationship with Legolas’ father. But I was sure the king saw the validity in my words. Times were changing. The old ways could only last so long before they had to be thrown out in order to let the new ways come in.
We stood in awkward silence. I wanted to be excused so I could escape and settle down. This conversation wasn’t going so well now. I felt like we had crossed into dangerous territory, I wanted to back out before things escalated.
Finally, the king spoke, “I cannot deny that what you say is true, Nimalia. Our world is ever-changing. That does not mean that my mind will conform to the changes right away, however.”
“No one expects you to,” I said carefully. “C-can I be dismissed now, Your Majesty? I feel as though we have reached our conversation’s end.”
“I believe you are right. You may go now.”
I did a thoughtful bow before leaving the King of Greenwood. At least the talk did not go down a dangerously disastrous path. Even if the king never approved of the relationship, he would not stop it . Legolas and I had a bond that would not have anything in its way, even something as important as the king’s approval.
**I don't know why, but I love the title I gave this chapter. It's true, the worst is over. The baddies are dealt with and our Nimolas lives on and (finally) comes together, without any complications.
On another note. One. More. To go. Are you ready for it?**