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Greenleaf & Imladris 22-Bereth:To Have and To Hold	By : MPB Category: -Multi-Age > Slash - Male/Male Views: 3386 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Lord of the Rings (and associated) book series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 13
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Chapter XIII: Not Quite Over

Legolas insisted that Elrohir sit and rest for a spell. His mate looked worn and oh so weary in spirit. That was not to be wondered at considering what he had been subjected to. The archer only hoped that there were no more hidden perils to plague them anew.

They were startled when, several minutes later, Elladan and Gimli burst into the chamber. Elrohir visibly relaxed when he saw it was his twin and Dwarf friend who had come.

“You certainly took your time,” he gibed his brother tiredly, taking note of Elladan’s grimed and gory appearance.

The older twin snorted. “Try being quicker while holding off a pack of orcs,” he retorted. And then he fell on his knees before Elrohir and hugged him snugly. “Thank Eru you are safe,” he whispered.

“Gimli! You are hurt!” Legolas exclaimed. He bent to examine his friend’s battered shoulder.

“Ah! Just a scratch,” Gimli said dismissively. He frowned when he saw the dark-robed body and the severed head on the floor. “Is that—?”

At Legolas’ grim nod, he walked over and with his toe, gingerly turned the head over. He looked at the others in confusion.

“I thought Maeglin was an ellon”—male Elf—he said.

“He is – was,” Legolas agreed. “Why—?”

He stopped and stared at the dead face. It was the female countenance he’d briefly glimpsed earlier that he now looked upon, framed by dark red hair already stiff with congealed blood. He glanced at the body and was disconcerted to find a curvaceous form beneath the robes.

“It cannot be!” he blurted out.

“It can,” Elrohir said. “His fëa is gone. He no longer shares her body.”

“He shared her body?” Elladan questioned incredulously.

The Elf-knight sighed. “‘Tis a long story and an odious one. I will tell you later. For now there are things still to be done.”

Elladan nodded. “Aye, we must destroy this hold. We cannot allow it to become a haven for unsavory creatures.”

Elrohir frowned. “Speaking of unsavory creatures, Maeglin claimed he had an army of orcs encamped just below this fortress.”

“He did,” Gimli replied. “We could see the scum from the tower. Though I hesitate to call it an army. More like a rabble of brainless beasts if you ask me.”

Elladan wryly smiled. “They fled soon after Gimli destroyed the crystal. I wager ‘twas what Maeglin used to control them.”

“But their armor and weapons?” Legolas queried. “I dislike the idea of orcs so well shielded and armed running amuck.”

Elladan shook his head. “From what I could see, they were not armed as the orcs within the fortress were. I suspect that Maeglin had not made enough galvorn to outfit all his minions.”

Elrohir looked at the corpse somberly. “That begs a question, gwaniuar”—older twin—he murmured. “Do we keep or destroy what he did make?”

Legolas grimaced with distaste. “I do not care to touch what he forged,” he declared. “They are cursed by his evil and would only bring ruin to whoever dares to wield them.”

“I agree,” Gimli said. “I say we destroy everything.”

Elrohir only nodded.

*******

They let fire consume and cleanse the place. When the flames hungrily ate every combustible material within their searing grasp, including supporting frames and buttresses, the keep’s very structure weakened. As the Elves and Dwarf watched from outside the main gate, the roof of the main wing gave in, followed by the turret. At last, they made their way down the hill, the roar and rumble of fire and crumbling masonry resounding in their ears.

The Elves called to their steeds and within minutes the beasts obeyed their summons and approached them. Mounting, they took one last look at the stronghold then rode away.

They travelled without stopping to get as far as they could from the burning fortress. They could not put enough distance between them and the stench of the hold’s lingering evil. Finally, when all they could see were black clouds of smoke, they felt comfortable enough to take a much-needed rest.

They led their mounts to a running stream and let the animals drink their fill while they washed the grime and gore from their hands and faces, ignoring the bite of the icy water. Here, as they sat for a while by the water, Elrohir finally told them all he knew of their vanquished foe. His listeners were, by turns, shocked, horrified and enraged by his account. Finally, they rose to their feet and made ready to go. Elrohir looked back at the smoke billowing over the horizon.

“We were fortunate,” he said in a low voice.

“Fortunate?” Gimli nearly choked.

“Aye. For all his bombast, Maeglin was no Sauron. Not in wisdom or strength or cunning. And he was not completely sane though he hid it well at first.”

Legolas looked at him curiously. “How do you know this?”

The Elf-knight glanced back at him with haunted eyes. “I knew his tale for truth but he raved like one demented as he related it. He sounded at times like a child who believes he will get something simply because he desires it. At others, he spoke as though he was performing before an audience. And to claim himself the equal of the Dark Lord and that he would best him in a year’s time...” He shook his head. “I soon suspected that he was tainted with a touch of lunacy. When he sought to – to violate me, I saw his eyes and that confirmed my suspicions. I knew then that his mind was no longer whole.”

Elladan reached out and squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. “I suppose his mind could not remain whole in light of what he had lived through,” he remarked. “And if you think about it, Maeglin may have been ancient in the sheer number of years of his existence but in terms of learning and experience, he was really younger than us. He was not even two hundred years old when our forefather defeated him.”

“I had forgotten about that,” Elrohir admitted. “That and his lunacy would certainly account for so many of his lapses. His theatrical manner. His haphazard planning. His lack of adequate preparation. His idiotic priorities.” He let out a humorless gust of laughter. “He ignored what was happening outside his keep in favor of taking his pleasure of me! What greater madness can there be than that?”

Elladan wryly grinned. “Well, you are a potent distraction, gwanneth!” —younger twin!

Elrohir rolled his eyes and threw a light punch at his brother’s arm.

“But you have to admit he did one thing right,” Gimli said. “He chose the best location for his confounded fortress. That place is so isolated, no one marked its presence at all.”

“True,” Legolas murmured. “Had Elrohir not broached the idea of searching these mountains, none would have known of his existence.” He stared at the column of smoke that continued to mar the horizon. “Methinks my people will have to give thought to exploring the Ered Mithrin once in a while. I do not care for another Maeglin hiding in its depths or heights.”

“Nor I,” Elrohir agreed. “His mind may have been unsound but had he succeeded in unleashing his creatures – I shudder to imagine the results of such an invasion.”

“We would have beaten him,” Gimli asserted confidently.

“But at what cost?” Elrohir said. “I am relieved we stopped it before it began.”

“What of the sorceress?” Legolas asked curiously. “Was she mad as well?”

“Mayhap not,” Elrohir said. “But after sharing the same body for so long with Maeglin, I think she had ceased to think for herself. I imagine she allowed him to plan for both of them. All she cared for were the results of their scheming. After all, she had been a mere servant of Sauron. She could and did dabble in the dark arts and efficiently at that. But she was a follower, not a leader.”

“At least she rid the mountains of the cold-drakes,” Elladan remarked. He glanced at Gimli. “Your folk may return to these parts now. After all, what are mere orcs to you?”

Gimli snickered. “I will suggest it to Thorin,” he grinned. “Mayhap with Dwarves frequenting these mountains again, there will be no need to worry about more resurrected Elves showing up!” He started as something cold dropped upon his nose. He looked about and saw the slow white dappling of their surroundings. “Am I imagining things or is it starting to snow?” he demanded.

The others looked about as well and shook their heads. “You are not imagining things,” Legolas told him. He glanced at Elrohir. “This winter’s oddities? Was that their doing as well?”

“Alieth’s most likely,” the Elf-knight replied. “She possessed a talent for manipulating weather. Witness how she slew the cold-drakes.”

“Well, whatever she did, it’s being undone now,” Gimli grumbled. “Let us find shelter at once. I am in no hurry to suffer from frostbite after managing to survive orcs, a spider and the schemes of a raving lunatic!”

But the snowfall proved gradual and sporadic. And for the time being, it was confined to the upper reaches of the mountains. Traveling a little further down they soon left the snowline behind. They finally set up camp in a sheltered thicket halfway down the slope.

While the others built a fire and broke out food and drink, Legolas busied himself with currying his horse. Elrohir approached him. The prince was as visibly fatigued as his steed and the warrior looked at him with some concern.

“You can do that later, Calenlass,” he murmured. “You are weary.”

Legolas shook his head. “Nay, I am not that tired.”

“Legolas, you are trembling from exhaustion,” Elrohir pointed out. “Even Gimli can see that. Please, come and take some rest.”

“I am no Elfling!” the archer flared without warning. “I will not be treated like a mewling infant!”

Elrohir stared at him in shock and fast-dawning disappointment. His lips tightening, he spun on his heel and would have stridden away but for the sudden grip on his arm. He glanced back angrily to meet Legolas’ remorseful gaze.

“I am sorry,” the prince said contritely. “I did not mean to snap at you.”

Elrohir let out a frustrated sigh. “After all we have been through, I thought—” He halted when he saw Legolas flinch. He looked away for a moment, striving to keep his own temper in check. After a space he looked at the archer again. “We have to talk, Legolas,” he grimly said. “I cannot—” He drew a deep breath. “I am at the end of my forbearance.”

He saw the fear that flickered across the prince’s countenance. The grip on his hand tightened as Legolas unconsciously pulled him closer.

“You are not...” Legolas swallowed hard. “You are not thinking of...of leaving me,” he whispered shakily. “Are you?”

Elrohir half-glared at him. “We are bound,” he tersely replied. “Like it or not, we are stuck with each other for eternity.” His choice of words elicited a pained gasp from the golden-haired Elf and he instantly repented of them. But he could not unsay either the truth or his frustration. “I do not regret our binding,” he said more calmly. “But there are matters we must resolve before things get any worse than they are already. We will discuss this when we get back to Greenwood.”

Legolas almost timidly nodded. Elrohir turned away and walked back to the others. He sat beneath the eaves of a sturdy tree and stared into the flames of the campfire, unmindful of his brother’s and Gimli’s surreptitious glances at him.

After a few tense moments, Legolas came to him and knelt by his side. He stared at the archer, eyes still stern.

Legolas gazed at him uncertainly. “You are right, I do need to rest,” he conceded meekly. “May I stay with you?” he added hesitantly.

The Elf-knight’s gaze did not waver or soften as he thoughtfully regarded his errant mate. Feeling as if his heart would burst, Legolas bit his lower lip and made to rise, his fair face now ashen. But he was stayed by a firm grip on his arm. He looked at Elrohir apprehensively.

Wordlessly, Elrohir leaned back against the tree and motioned to Legolas to lie down and lay his head on his lap. Drawing in a relieved breath, the archer gratefully accepted the silent invitation. Flushing at Elladan and Gimli’s questioning stares, he resolutely turned towards Elrohir, one arm curling tightly around the Elf-lord’s waist. He pressed his hot face into his mate’s taut stomach. A moment later, he felt a soothing hand upon his back, while the other stroked his hair gently. Though anxiety still nipped at the edges of his consciousness, the comforting touch of his spouse proved the stronger and he soon drifted off into sleep.

**********************

Glossary:

fëa – Quenya for spirit

To be continued…
- 13
- 14
- 15
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Greenleaf & Imladris 22-Bereth:To Have and To Hold