Legolas POV
“She is in Lothlorien,” I blurt out the second I enter the dining room for breakfast.
Last night, after Lady Galadriel had summoned me in dream form, I had waited anxiously for the sun to rise in order for me to share my new revelations with my family. They are the only ones who will be able to keep me from rashly deciding to travel to Lothlorien. I have been running the idea through my mind constantly, but Galadriel’s warnings keep me from acting upon impulse… for now.
Every single member of my family is seated at the oak table, their eyes wide with confusion at my sudden appearance and news.
“Who is in Lothlorien, exactly?” my father asks slowly, enunciating each syllable as if he is speaking to someone mentally unstable.
My pulse races through my veins as I think of her radiance. Eilonwy. A smile immediately follows the very thought of her, as it always does, and I find myself standing in the middle of the dining room, grinning as if I have gone mad. My family stares at me as if confirming my brief fear of insanity.
I clear my throat and attempt to hide my smile, but it’s nearly impossible. “The elleth from my visions,” I state and watch as their eyes widen even more. “She is in Lothlorien,” I say once again and breathlessly chuckle at the solid truth in my words. It is real. She is real.
My mother gasps in delight as an overjoyed smile comes to her lips. “Oh, Legolas! Are you positive? How do you know?”
At the very same time that my mother speaks, Glosseth begins her own twenty questions. “Do you know her name now? Is she coming to Mirkwood? What did you see in your vision this time?”
My father quickly stops their chattering, and they become silent. The wide smiles never leave their faces, though, and their eyes shine with barely contained excitement.
I inhale shakily as I try to remain composed. My family’s excitement causes my own elation to rise quickly. “I did not have a vision. This time, Lady Galadriel summoned me in a dream and showed me what was happening in Lothlorien. The elleth was with her. The Lady of Lorien told me that I must stay here in Mirkwood and that she will send the elleth to us soon,” I rush out the words. The weird sensation that always enters my heart and stomach when I think of the elleth comes on full force as I breathe out my next sentence.
“Her name is Eilonwy.” The name rolls off my tongue deliciously, just as it did when I said it for the very first time last night.
“Eilonwy. What a beautiful name!” my sister says giddily, and bell-like, melodic giggles ,m fall from her lips.
My mother stands abruptly and comes to stand in front of me. “Come and take your seat, ion nin. You look as if you might pass out from happiness,” she jests as she guides me to my seat.
My father laughs loudly at my mother’s statement, and he claps me on the shoulder once I take my seat beside him. “I am happy for you, Legolas. Your love for this elleth is very evident. I cannot wait to meet her and see what it is about her that makes her so appealing to my eldest son.”
Gwilithon is swift to take part in the jesting. “You are practically gushing happiness and love. It is quite disgusting, really,” he says with a wide, mischievous smile.
Glosseth whacks him on the arm. “It is not disgusting! Legolas looks so adorable with his shining eyes and flushed cheeks! Eilonwy will fall in love with him the second she lays eyes on him!”
My mother puts one of her delicate hands over her lips as she laughs heartily. “Oh, ion nin, you are swooning!” she teases me lightly.
My cheeks burn hotly from their observations, and I cannot help but wonder if I have made a mistake in telling them anything about Eilonwy. It will be hell when they meet her for the first time.
“I am not swooning!” I protest, but they all continue to laugh and joke about me, each talking over the other. “And I am not adorable!”
“I cannot wait until she arrives. You must tell me everything that happens between the two of you,” my sister laughs and leans over to where her lips are at my pointed ear. “You must tell me when you first kiss her!” she whispers to me.
The burning in my cheeks seems to get hotter as flashes of my visions come to mind. “Listen, everyone calm down, okay? It will be a long while until she comes to Mirkwood anyway, so please save your excitement until then,” I say with an embarrassed scowl.
As my sister, mother, and brother all conveniently ignore me and continue speaking to one another excitedly, my father addresses me seriously. “Why is Galadriel making Eilonwy stay with her instead of sending her to Mirkwood immediately?”
My smile fades as I stare into my father’s serious, icy blue eyes. “She said that Eilonwy needs time to adapt to our world,” my fathers eyes become alarmed, “I do not know what that means exactly, but apparently, there is a prophecy that was written about her thousands of years ago.”
My father stares at me silently, his eyes swimming with sudden realization. “A prophecy,” he whispers thoughtfully.
A sudden knock on the door quiets us all.
“Enter,” my father says, his eyes still trained on mine.
A guard enters the room and bows. “My king, Lord Elrond and Lady Celebrian have arrived.”
My father nods, his gaze finally drifting away from me. “Thank you. I will be there shortly.”
The guard bows once again and then leaves, and my father stands from the table, eyeing
my untouched breakfast.
“Everyone, we must leave and greet them at the gates. Legolas, you may stay and eat your breakfast.” I nod and the rest of my family stand from the table and swiftly exit the room.
So, as my family welcomes Lord Elrond and his wife, I sit and quietly eat my breakfast. My head swims with thousands of thoughts and questions about the mysterious Eilonwy, and once again, I consider traveling to Lothlorien. Maybe I could just go, lie low for a while. Just because I am there in the same realm as her doesn’t mean that I have to speak to her. I could admire her from afar for a while, but is that not what I am already doing, in a way? I frown as I look down at my plate in deep thought. I sound like a lovesick fool. I am a lovesick fool. But I cannot help it! She haunts me. I see her so clearly in my mind everyday. I want her. I need her. My heart is but an empty void without her. Before I started having the visions, I thought my life was complete, but how wrong I was!
I shake my head. “I cannot travel to Lothlorien,” I continue to chant in my mind, but the desire to meet my beautiful Eilonwy is too much to bear. I cannot sit here and wait in misery for who-knows how long! I slam my fist on the oak table, dishes rattling violently like the thoughts in my head.
I inhale and exhale slowly, attempting to calm myself. My fingers curl into fists, my knuckles turning white from how hard I dig my fingernails into my palms. I wait a couple of moments before I finally make up my mind on what to do. I push my empty breakfast plate away and stand. Taking one more deep breath, I stride to the door, ready to greet the Lord and Lady of Imladris. Eilonwy. Cool air rushes into the room when I open the door and exit the dining room with a purposeful stride. Wait for me.
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“Ah, Legolas. It is so wonderful to see you,” Lady Celebrian says with a kind smile as she pulls me into a warm embrace.
“The same for you, my lady,” I say as she pulls away, “Tell me, how is Arwen? I have not found the time to visit Gondor since her marriage to Aragorn.”
Arwen is the youngest child of Lord Elrond and Lady Celebrian. She and I have been great friends since childhood, so we are very, very close. At one point in time, her father and mine had hoped we would marry when we came of age, but our relationship has never been romantic. To me, Arwen is like a sister, and I am like a brother to her.
After the War of the Ring was over not too many years ago, Arwen married the love of her life, Aragorn, who happened to be mortal and the heir to the throne of Gondor. She was so in love with Aragorn that she sacrificed her immortality in order to live a full human life with him. Her choice was sorrowful for everyone who loved her, but I think that our happiness for her overrides the pain of impending loss. Aragorn and Arwen’s love is so pure, so true. Once glance between them is enough for anyone to see that. That is how I want to be with my future wife, with Eilonwy. I want everyone to easily see our bond and love for one another.
I will admit that at times I have become jealous of the King and Queen of Gondor’s marriage. It is a terrible weakness, yes, but I cannot help it. Seeing the two of them so in love, with their children running around at their feet, is enough to set the fire of loneliness ablaze inside my heart. They have the life that I have dreamt of for so long.
“Aragorn and Arwen are doing very well, along with their children. I cannot believe it has been so long since you’ve visited them! Their children are so beautiful, all three of them!” she says and her eyes light up with joy. A slight jolt of pain hits my heart at her expression and tone of voice. Is this how my mother will be one day when I am finally married? “Have you heard that Arwen is pregnant with her fourth child?”
My eyes widen in surprise. “N-no, I have not. How long has she known she was pregnant?”
Lady Celebrian laughs lightly. “Why, Legolas, her baby is due any day now! That is why my husband and I, along with our sons, are passing through Mirkwood. We want to be nearby when the baby arrives.”
“Legolas! I have missed you, brother!” I hear the familiar voice of Elladan exclaim as if he heard his mother mention him and Elrohir.
I look up at him with a huge smile and clap him on the shoulder shaking him slightly as excitement pulses through my veins. I had no idea that the twin sons of Elrond would be coming, also. Just like how I am great friends with Arwen, I am extremely close with her brothers Elladan and Elrohir. Numerous times, when we were young, we would play pranks on my brother and sister and several other unlucky elves. We were terrors. Nightmares.
I greet Elrohir the same way, all three of us wearing matching bright smiles. “It is wonderful to see you both again! I was not expecting your company,” I say honestly.
Elrohir chuckles deeply. “Nothing could keep us from journeying to Mirkwood. I think Elladan and I have missed you and your siblings more than we care to admit,” he says teasingly.
Before I can answer, Lord Elrond comes to stand behind his wife, who has remained standing beside me throughout her sons’ greetings. She looks up at him lovingly when he places his hands on her shoulders, and a spark ignites a flame in my heart at the immense love they share for one another.
“Legolas,” Lord Elrond addresses me solemnly, “I must speak with you and your father. Alone.”
I bow my head once. “Of course, my lord.”
My father, Lord Elrond, and I make our way to my father’s office as the rest of my family, the twins, and Lady Celebrian gaze after us anxiously. My father pushes the oak door open and allows Lord Elrond and I to enter before he closes it and takes a seat at his large wooden desk.
Lord Elrond sighs and looks at me. “I am sorry for being so straightforward, Legolas. It is good to see you again,” he says in his signature deep tone of voice. His words are solemn, just like his expression, but his gray eyes swim with sincerity.
I bow my head as a sign of respect for the elf lord. “It is good to see you again as well, my lord.”
He studies me for a moment before speaking. “You have something of importance to speak to me about, Legolas. Do you not?” he states rather than asks. His eyes pierce into me as if he is looking straight into my soul, into my mind, but I do not waver. I am used to his all-knowing stare.
I look at my father for a moment, my eyes meeting his icy blue gaze, so alike to my own. He nods ever so slightly, silently prompting me to spill my secret to the elf lord. I inhale deeply. “I am sure you have already foreseen certain events and know what I am about to say, but I will tell you what has been happening to me in order to clear up what might be hazy. For the past three--almost four--years, I have been having visions of an elleth. I have a different vision of her every single night. Until recently, I did not even know if she was real nor did I know her name. Last night, Lady Galadriel summoned me in a dream, showing me the elleth. She told me that the elleth is in Lothlorien. Her name is Eilonwy.”
Lord Elrond listened intently to my every word. His eyes widened considerably when I said her name. He turns to look at my father. “It is as I thought. She has returned which means the prophecy is soon to come to an end.”
My dark eyebrows furrow in utter confusion. “Why does everyone keep speaking of a prophecy? What is this prophecy and what does it have to do with Eilonwy? She is not in danger is she?” the questions come tumbling out of my mouth.
“Calm yourself, ion nin,” my father says and holds up a hand.
Lord Elrond’s gaze pierces into me with further interest. “There is a prophecy that was written thousands of years ago. Lady Galadriel and I realized it was about Eilonwy when she was a baby. She was in danger and hunted by orcs. Our solution was to send her to a different world, Earth, using very old, ancient magic.”
My eyes narrow at the thought of Eilonwy being in danger. “I want to hear this prophecy.”
Lord Elrond does not hesitate, as if he has had the prophecy drilled into his brain.
“‘There will come a time of pain and sorrow, and all hope will seem to be lost,
but a new light will be born within the soul of a small elven child.
With hair created from the flame that resides within the hearts of the brave
and eyes the color of rare emeralds in which greedy beings wish to obtain,
this child will grow to be incomparable in beauty and power.
Many will doubt this mysterious and strange elleth,
some will attempt to claim her magic for themselves for use of evil and malice,
but in time, she will become the salvation of all of Middle Earth,
restoring peace and joy where it has long been forsaken.
All will know her name.”’
He finishes the prophecy and silence rains down upon us for a long while.
My father looks at me. “You see, Eilonwy might not even be in danger anymore. When she was born, Sauron was slyly plaguing the lands of Middle Earth. He knew of Eilonwy. He felt the magic and power that radiated from the baby, so he sent out orcs to find her. As the prophecy states, some people want to use her power for evil. We believe that line in the prophecy is speaking of Sauron. Now that he is vanquished, she should be safe.”
I nod comprehendingly. “But the prophecy does not speak of her being sent to Earth,” I point out.
Lord Elrond says, “Prophecies are known for being fairly vague and unclear. It does say the phrase ‘in time’, and we believe that this references her coming home to Middle Earth.”
“That sounds true,” I say as I lean against the wall and cross my arms. “So, she has powers… magic?”
My father nods. “Yes. As the prophecy says, she is very powerful. That is why I think Galadriel is keeping Eilonwy with her for the time being. The elleth needs proper training.”
The room becomes silent once again as we all become lost in thought.
Lord Elrond’s eyes flit back to me after a while as if a thought suddenly came to him. “Legolas,” he addresses me with a strange look in his eyes.
“Yes, my lord?”
“You love her, I assume.”
My eyes widen in surprise. Am I so easy to read? Embarrassment sweeps through me. My cheeks start to feel hot and I try to force away the blush. I absolutely refuse to blush in the presence of my father and Lord Elrond.
I clear my throat. “What causes you to assume such things?”
A small smirk comes to his lips as he glances at my father for a moment. “There is no need to be embarrassed. I was only making a harmless assumption,” he says as he tries to keep a straight face.
My father chuckles deeply as he watches my reaction.
I push away from the wall with a scowl on my face. Why must everyone tease me so? I cannot control who I love. “May I be excused?” I ask my father as he and Lord Elrond continue to laugh at me.
My father only manages to nod because he is laughing so hard. I spin on my heel and stride to the door. They treat me as if I am an elfling!
Once I am out of my father’s office, I dash down the twisting hallways of the palace to my room. I fling the door open as I come to a halt in front of it. Grabbing my traveling pack from under my bed, I begin flinging random tunics and pants into it along with my other necessities.
After my bag is packed, I strap my weapons to my body and grab my bow along with the quiver before racing down to the kitchens. When I burst through the swinging double doors of the kitchens, I grab a large bundle of Lembas bread from one cabinet and stuff it into my bag, also. I leave the kitchens, slinking stealthily through the hallways in order to avoid my family. A sigh of relief exits my lips as I finally make it outdoors without being seen, and I jog to the stables.
Fond memories sweep into my mind as my eyes land on Arod, my horse that was given to me on the quest to destroy the One Ring. I strap my bags onto him and stroke him softly on the muzzle. I go to swing onto him, but a sudden chuckle from behind causes me to freeze in my steps.
“Legolas, what would your mother say if she saw you running throughout the palace in such a manner? Why, for a moment, I thought you were in danger. I do not think I have ever seen you run so quickly!”
I close my eyes for a moment in frustration. “Elladan, please leave and pretend you did not see anything.”
I turn to him as I hear him approach me softly. “I am not planning to tattle on you like an elfling, Legolas,” he says sarcastically and I turn to look at him. His smile falters. “I know where you are going. Your mother and sister were chattering excitedly to us about Eilonwy.” A look of anguish passes through his eyes when he says her name.
I study him for a moment, wondering why her name would cause such an emotion to pass over his face. “I am not supposed to be traveling to Lothlorien, but obviously my rebellious side has overcome all rationality.”
Elladan nods. “I wish you luck with her, mellon nin. Love is a very complex thing,” he says quietly as he looks down with his eyebrows scrunched together. He sighs, “Go now, Legolas. I will try to keep everyone’s attention away from your absence for as long as I can before they figure out that you have left. It was nice to see you again.”
I smile broadly, confidence blooming in my chest at the fact that someone is supporting my rash decision. “Thank you, Elladan,” I say with sincerity and mount Arod.
He smiles and nods once, and he backs away from the horse as I spur him into action, racing from the stables and out into the open. As I reach the mouth of the forest, I turn to look at my home once more, and then the image of Mirkwood’s palace disappears behind the trunks and leaves of the trees. I turn to look ahead of me now, as if leaving behind any insecurities and fears. A light laugh escapes my lips as Arod and I speed throughout the forest. I am actually doing it. I am leaving despite the fact that I am not supposed to. As I ride throughout the forest, my smile never leaves my lips.
I am on my way to find Eilonwy and make her mine.
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A/N: Bum ba da da! And Legolas is off! ;)
Okay, so to clear things up, this story takes place after the War of the Ring. I made it to where the elves stayed in Middle Earth instead of leaving for Valinor. I know that Lady Celebrian and Thranduil's wife are not supposed to be alive/in Middle Earth, but I wanted to keep them for the purpose of having more female characters. Girl power! :D and Legolas's siblings are added just because I liked the thought of Legolas having a loving family. ~~
So, as usual, please read and review. I absolutely adore reading your sweet comments and creative ideas! See y’all next chapter, where we’ll check back in with Eilonwy.
With love,
Josie <3