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Falling In Love is Hard on the Knees	By : sarahjean Category: Lord of the Rings Movies > General Views: 3149 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Lord of the Rings book series and movie series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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I was bruised and battered, I couldn't tell what I felt.
I was unrecognizable to myself.
I saw my reflection in a window, I didn't know my own face.
Oh brother are you gonna leave me wastin' away
On the Streets of Philadelphia.

I walked the avenue, 'til my legs felt like stone,
I heard the voices of friends vanished and gone,
At night I hear the blood in my veins,
Just as black and whispering as the rain,
On the Streets of Philadelphia.

- Bruce Springsteen, Streets of Philadelphia

We eventually reached a rather dark, grimy place that reminded me of the inside of one of the cups in Jack�s room. Eurgh.

The night brings me alive, and the darkness of this place made me suddenly straighten up. Of course, I was still in pain and reeling from the shock of passing out in the snow. I hadn�t been able to move properly for a while, and for a half degrading, half pleasurable fifteen minutes, Legolas carried me princess-style back down the mountain. I was embarrassed, but at the same time, I wanted to whoop. It felt very warm and comfy.

But now I was walking on my own two rather large size 8 feet, and soon, I came to stop with the rest in front of a stone wall.

�The walls of Moria,� Gandalf said.

�Where�s the door?� Penny muttered. I rolled my eyes.

�Well,� Gandalf said. �Let�s see�Ithilden. It mirrors only starlight and moonlight.�

I turned my gaze upwards to the skies, in time to see the clouds part, revealing a large, round moon. I heard a gasp, and saw that the door to Moria was revealed. A beautiful thing it was, too.

�Why do I get a bad feeling from this?� Tommy asked.

�Maybe because you saw the cartoon,� I suggested, my voice low.

�That might be it,� he nodded.

�It reads,� Gandalf said, indicating to the door, �The doors of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak friend and enter.�

�What do you suppose that means?� Merry puzzled.

�Oh, it�s quite simple,� Gandalf said, looking so sure of himself. �If you are a friend, you speak the password, and the doors will open.� He put his staff to the door (which, even in my fogged mind, made me chuckle inwardly � hey, I�m very perverse when the mood strikes me) and said, �Annon Edhellen edro hi ammen!� Silence. Nothing happened. Gandalf tried again. �Ando Eldarinwa a lasta quettanya, Fenda Casarinwa!�

I glanced over in time to see Aragorn and Sam letting Bill the pony go. I watched the pony go, and in my mind, some part of me was saying, hop on his back and get out of here as well!

But the other part said, you made a promise, and you�re going to keep it.

�Damn my honourable side,� I muttered.

�An honourable side is a good thing to have,� Legolas commented, coming up beside me.

�So I�ve heard,� I replied. �I never used to be conscientious, it�s driving me nuts.�

He smiled, and said, ��Tis a sure sign of maturity, melamin.�

�And here I was thinking I�d never grow up,� I grinned.

Gentle plops drew my attention. Pippin was skimming stones across the lake, and it was then that I remembered exactly why he should be doing it. I was just about to say something, but Aragorn got there first, staying the hobbit�s hand.

�Do not disturb the water,� he said.

�Oh, it�s useless,� Gandalf sighed, sitting down and taking off his hat.

I hunted back in my mind, and said, �Mellon.� The doors creaked open, and everyone turned their gazes to me. �What?� I asked. �I saved time, didn�t I? Speak friend and enter. The Elvish for friend is Mellon. Honestly, it doesn�t take a genius, really.� Gandalf didn�t look pleased at my dig, but the rest were just happy that they didn�t have to wait outside for much longer. We all walked into the mines, and I cast a weary look over my shoulder, at the slightly rippling waters of the lake.

�Soon, Master Elf,� Gimli said to Legolas, �you will enjoy the fabled hospitality of the Dwarves! Roaring fires, malt beer, ripe meat off the bone! This, my friend, is the home of my cousin Balin. And they call it a mine. A MINE!�

�This is no mine,� Boromir said. �It�s a tomb.�

I�d been staring at the ground for a few moments now. The rotting corpses of dwarves and orcs were all over the floor, and the smell was quite rancid.

Penny shrieked and bounced back, almost knocking Aragorn over. Both my brothers unsheathed their swords, ready to do battle.

Gimli gasped. �No! Nooo! NOOOO!�

Legolas took an arrow out of a nearby dead body. �Goblins!�

Boromir shook his head, as though to clear away some bad dream. �We make for the Gap of Rohan. We should never have come here! Now get out of here! Get out!�

We all began to back out. Our eyes were so fixed on the bodies that any of us � those that knew what would happen and those that didn�t � didn�t think of watching the lake. And so it was that the tentacle was able to grab Frodo and pull him out to the lake.

Various cries broke out, and the hobbits ran forward, slashing at the creature with their blades. I was almost frozen to the spot � I never was a brave old soul. A money spider would have me sobbing for my life. I guess seeing this creature made things all the more real and dangerous. What was more, there�d be even bigger battles inside Moria. At the same time, I was feeling a new kind of respect for the hobbits � half my height, twice the strength.

They managed to break Frodo free, but almost as soon as they had, more tentacles shot out, hoisting Frodo high into the air.

With wide eyes, I released my sword from its sheath, staring at the blade, the battle reflected in it. I was feeling pretty darn useless. As the men rushed into the water (including my brothers) and began slicing at the creature, Legolas shooting his arrows at a distance, I made a split second decision. I rushed forward, and did a spinning jump I�d only ever accomplished once in my sword lessons class. As I came back down, I sliced at a tentacle, and the force behind the spin sliced it clean off. Enraged noises were coming from this monster, but I barely noticed. Blood was pounding, and I could feel the pulse in my neck, feel the heat in my cheeks, the blood rushing to my brain and overwhelming me.

I cut off another tentacle, praying this thing wasn�t like they Hydra in any way. But eventually, Aragorn sliced the tentacle that held Frodo, Boromir catching the hobbit as he fell.

�Into the mines!� Gandalf cried. I didn�t need telling twice. I hauled my arse over there, and just as we all got inside, the creature managed to bring down some rocks, blocking the entrance to the mines and sending us into the darkness.

�Good thing I�m not afraid of the dark,� I muttered aloud. �What about you, Penny? Are you afwaid of da mean old dark?�

�Piss off, Carrie,� she replied, annoyed.

�Nah, I think I�ll stay here for a while,� I replied. �I mean, not only do I like annoying you, but it would appear the way out is blocked, and I can�t see jack shit. And no, I�m not talking about you, brother of mine.�

�Ha ha,� Jack said grumpily.

�I thought so,� I said.

�Sshhh,� Tommy said. He was waiting for Gandalf to say his lines, almost as though we were at our favourite show in a theatre.

�We now have but one choice,� Gandalf said, and suddenly, a light emitted from his staff. �We must face the long dark of Moria. Be on your guard. There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world.�

�Yeah,� I said. �Penny with no makeup.�

�Shut up!� She hissed in reply.

�Quietly now,� Gandalf said. �It's a four-day journey to the other side. Let us hope that our presence may go unnoticed.�
----------00oo0oooo0oo0o----------
We�d been walking along for a while. Even with Gandalf�s staff, it was still fairly dark. I discovered that as my fear mounted, my mood dropped rapidly. I was feeling sick, depressed and lonely. Lonely, you ask? Yes. Lonely. Tommy and Jack were off somewhere else entirely. Penny seemed to hover around Aragorn and Legolas a lot, and Legolas seemed to be sticking close to Gandalf. I was walking on my own. I normally walked on my own, don�t get me wrong. But I�d grown used to having Tommy, Legolas or Boromir�s company. Boromir seemed to stick with the hobbits a lot, and said hobbits stuck together as though someone had used superglue on their hips and shoved them together.

I was numb, and I was feeling out of place. I normally walked around in black clothes, my hair left loose, wearing big galumphing boots, with my biggest weapon being a pocket-knife. Now I was wearing odd Elvish clothing, my hair back in a braid, in light trekking boots, and a sword at my hip. I felt like someone different, but not necessarily in a good way.

I glanced to the side, and noticed a large spike sticking from a wall, a holder for a candle with deadly proportions. It only just caught the light of Gandalf�s staff, and was then plunged into the darkness once more as he moved on. I ran a finger over its length, then touched the tip delicately. It was sharp.

I didn�t even think twice. I stepped closer to the wall and kept on walking. The pain was actually worse then I�d thought. I gave quick cry and leapt away. Gandalf turned and the light was upon me. I clutched my arm, feeling the blood trickle over my hand. I glanced in amazement at the spike, with the melted candle-wax in the cylindrical holder.

Legolas stepped closer and glanced at my arm, then at the spike. �It is rather deep,� he said. �We must dress this wound.�

�In a moment,� I said, through gritted teeth. �Just walk a bit further. There�s a clearing up ahead.�

They didn�t question me, because by now they knew that I could �tell the future�. So we moved on, with Legolas standing next to me this time.

I was still shocked. I�d bargained on pain, yes. I�d wanted it. But I hadn�t expected it to hurt so much. And now that I thought about it, I�d practically done it in front of everyone, including three members of my family. If they knew it had been self-inflicted, they didn�t show it. I just lowered my head, my jaws clamped together painfully, and kept on walking.

After some time of walking, we came to the clearing. It was like one of those puzzle games, where you have to choose from three passages. We all glanced around, wondering how, when we moved on, we might choose the right one.

�I have no memory of this place,� Gandalf said.

Bloody brilliant, I thought sarcastically.

Everyone decided to mull about, doing there own thing and resting for a moment. Legolas led me over to sit on some broken pieces of stone. He removed some pieces of cloth from his quiver, apparently prepared for �accidents� such as this. He carefully asked me to remove the outer layer of my tunic, and I obeyed, remaining the white under-layer. He rolled up the sleeve, and I saw the gash for the first time. If I�d been easily sickened by the sight of blood, I�d probably have thrown up over the handsome Elf before passing out. But luckily, all I felt was an overwhelming flush of shame and a tightening in my stomach.

Legolas gently used one of the pieces of cloth, soaked in some Elvish liquid taken from an animal-skin flask, to wipe away the blood clotted around the wound. I guessed it was alcohol, because my wound instantly began to sting. He slammed my eyes shut and screwed up my face, determined not to scream.

�Amin hiraetha, melamin,� he said softly. �I must cleanse the wound to avoid infection.�

I nodded. �Sorry I�m making you waste your alcohol.�

�Nay, not wasting it,� he said. �Are you always this awkward?�

�Are you always this nice?� I shot back. �I think I prefer it when people are mean to me, at least I don�t have to struggle to find something to say that won�t offend them.�

Nice one, Carrie, I thought darkly. I shook my head. �I�m sorry, Legolas. Amin�amin hiraetha, right?�

He smiled and nodded. �You learn quickly.�

�I have no choice,� I replied. Then I snorted. �Bloody hell, I�m turning into a right stroppy cow, aren�t I?�

He looked confused, but must have caught the general gist of my words. �From what you have spoken to me of, you are at odds. You have every right to feel �stroppy�.� He began wrapping one of the cloth pieces around my arm, telling me to stop moving it because my bicep was making life difficult.

�Legolas?�

�Uma?�

�Would you tell me something of yourself?�

He paused. �What do you wish to hear, Lirimaer?�

�I don�t know � something. Anything.�

He finished tying up the makeshift bandage, and sat back more comfortably on the rock. For a moment, he was silent, and I was just about to apologise for asking when he said, �There were three babes born to my atara and atar. My mother and father. The eldest was myself. Then came my brother, Corenian. My sister, Estrella, was the youngest. She wed an Elf from Rivendell, and when she did, it seemed that it split my family apart��
Legolas watched his brother load his bow, setting an arrow at the ready. It had been often that they competed in archery contests, even though Corenian was nowhere near the skill of Legolas. However, since Estrella had departed to stay in Rivendell with her husband, things seemed to be falling apart at the seams. Legolas had known that Estrella was the one who ended a lot of fights and kept the two brothers at peace. But now she was gone.

Legolas had not had an archery contest with his brother since she had left 80 years ago. He had tried to coax his brother into it many a time, but Corenian would not have it. Legolas gave up after some time of asking. He knew Corenian was missing Estrella � he was, too.

But Corenian had surprised him this day, requesting an archery contest. Legolas had quickly agreed.

Not a word had been spoken since, and as Legolas watched his brother load the bow, he began to notice just how different they were. Legolas looked like his father � with his fair hair and his blue eyes. Corenian � and Estrella, come to think of it � looked like their mother, a Rivendell Elf, with their thick dark hair and dark blue eyes. He was like the odd one out � and he was also the oldest. Being the oldest meant one thing. He was in line for the throne.

Corenian let the arrow fly, and to Legolas�s surprise, it came within a fraction of the centre of the bullseye.

�Sai-quel ,� he commented, nodding his head. �You have been practicing in the time that has passed since our last match.�

�But of course, toror� ,� Corenian replied, taking out another arrow and caressing it slightly. �You see, father has decided to enter me into the archery championships as well as yourself.�

Legolas felt his eyebrows shoot up. Certainly, he was pleased for his brother, but he was amazed. He had never thought Corenian to hold enough skill to enter such a championship tournament.

Corenian glanced at Legolas. �Surprised?�

�Pleased,� Legolas said. �I am a trifle curious as to why father only chose to enter you now, after all this time, though.�

Corenian shook his head in a way that Legolas instantly knew was disdainful. This brought a frown to his face. �Oh, brother dear, you are ignorant and na�ve, however many years you are my senior.�

Legolas felt heat flush into his cheeks. �Mani naa sina ?� He asked.

A rather dark grin crept over his brother�s features. �You are entitled to the throne of Mirkwood, Legolas, but only because you are the eldest son. You are only in the archery contests because you have the most skill, and therefore you give Mirkwood a good name. But you are not father�s favourite.�

�Favouritism is not an issue in our household,� Legolas said, trying to keep his voice steady.

�Not explicitly, n�uma,� Corenian said, cocking an eyebrow at his brother in a cruel way. �But you are not his favourite.�

Legolas felt shock swimming to his head, as though someone had released a flood into his mind. Was his father really choosing favourites? Why?

Corenian seemed to read his mind. �You may look like our father, Legolas. But you act like our mother.� He said this with a curl of his lip. �And we all know how much father hates our mother.�

�Do not speak so harshly of our mother, toror�,� Legolas said darkly. �She is a good woman.�

�Yes, indeed,� Corenian said, and gave a bark of laughter that seemed so unfamiliar for an Elf. �She is such a fine woman that she left our father for a Rivendell Elf.�

�She was not happy with father,� Legolas said, but inside he also felt a bit of pain at his mother�s decision.

�Thankfully, father never loved her. Or he might have died from a broken heart,� Corenian continued, laying on the spite.

�Tampa !� Legolas cried. �Something has changed you, Corenian! Why are you being so?�

�Nay, not changed, brother,� Corenian replied, and leaned in closer. �You just cannot stand that you are not the favourite. Estrella is here no more to mask the truth. You shall only be king because law bids that you be. But you always be in my shadow.�
I gulped. My images of Legolas being like one of those models on the front of Vogue (in other words, perfect in every aspect) had been shaken when he had revealed a kinship to me. And now my visions of him having the perfect family were also knocked off the shelf. Corenian was like Penny in many aspects. In fact, Penny had created a scene almost exactly the same as the one Legolas had just told me of.

�We are not so different, Carrie,� Legolas said, looking slightly out of focus, as though he was still trouncing through his memories.

�I see that,� I said, and I smiled. I realised for the first time that since Berry, I had found someone who was in the same boat. Only this time, it was different. Berry had no siblings, she did not know the pain of being the one excluded from the others. Legolas did. My smile grew wider, into such proportions that I began to imagine myself as a Grinch with overly pale skin and bad hair (or, should I say, worse hair). I tried to break it down a little. �But you�re close to your sister, right?�

Legolas smiled. �When I get to see her, yes.�

I smiled. �I�m quite close to Tommy. Not many like him on first glance because, well, he doesn�t have much shame�it�s real fun dancing with him though. But then, I remember one dance in particular where he jumped back from me and knocked several other dancers over.�

�Something scared him?� Legolas asked.

�Nope,� I said, chuckling, my chuckles growing into laughter. �I think he was afraid he was gonna be knocked out by my nunga-nungas!�

At Legolas�s confused look, I managed to gesture to my chest amidst my laughter. His eyebrows hit the ceiling (not literally, that would have just been weird) before he too started laughing. It was odd, to hear an Elf laughing at such a crude thing. I realised then that the normal mortification following such an event as SH had been avoided, simply because someone seemed to be taking the time for me. I knew in the recesses of my mind that my body would scar, and that my upper arm would be disfigured. But none of that seemed to matter, as we laughed over the fact that I had quite big nunga-nungas. Seriously.

�Eh,� Gandalf suddenly said loudly. �It�s that way.�

�He�s remembered!� Merry said.

�No,� Gandalf admitted. �But the air does not smell so foul down here. If in doubt, Meriadoc, follow your nose.�

This made me chuckle some more. Gandalf would have a helluva time using that tack in Thalia�s house � Thalia herself was as gassy as all of the Klumps put together. We moved on for a few moments, me thinking over some of the fun times I�d had with Thalia. She was like my opposite, but according to some tests I�d taken online once, that was a good thing � she brought to our relationship the optimism, and I brought the stability and sensibility.

�Let me risk a little more light,� Gandalf said. The light got brighter, and we all gasped. There was a humongous hall � and I literally mean humongous. Godzilla could�ve probably have gotten lost in there � if he hadn�t knocked himself out on the pillars first. �Behold the great realm of the Dwarf-city of Dwarrowdelf.�

My jaw must have been on the ground, because Legolas put a finger under my chin and pushed my jaws together with a chuckle. I squeaked, sounding like a chipmunk on speed.

�There�s an eye opener, make no mistake,� Sam said, awed. I glanced around, too stunned by the sheer size and greatness to do anything but squeak in a demented, rather idiotic way.

�Wow, imagine if a Primark opened up here,� Penny said.

�No,� Jack said. �A computer fair.�

�Nope,� Tommy said with a grin. �Imagine this being a big lake, filled with carp, bream, and any other cool fish ripe for fishing!�

�Hell yeah!� I said, and we brought our knuckles together in a rather manly way. The others all watched us, looking somewhere between amusement and fear.

�Oh, come on,� I said. �Surely you all think fishing is a good idea?�

�If you say so, young one,� Boromir chuckled. I sighed.

�Come,� Legolas said with a smile. �Let us move on.�
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Falling In Love is Hard on the Knees