Ballad of Fallen Angels: Part IV
by Elvensong
-----
"Shierra, I'm very tired. Can't we stop for a moment?"
"No, Legolas. We cannot stop while the sun shines. I know it is
difficult for one so small to walk all day every day, but you must.
We must find a safe harbor for you as soon as possible. There might
already be creatures out looking for you from Mirkwood."
"I will keep up, I promise." Legolas' young and awkward legs ached from
walking.
"We are we going?"
"To Gondor, young Prince. The land of men, where no Elf will be
looking for a young Prince from the Elven realms. There you will be
safe, there you can live your life. Gondor is not often visited by
Elves, but it is not unknown to them as well. Many Elves have lived
there, and you will not be shunned by the people there.
The four Elves continued walking until the sun set. Every now and then
Legolas would still trip over something while trying to keep a bearing
on which way he was going and the great sights that lie in between the
two realms. They had been traveling for a great deal of time, and
still they had nothing in front of them but wide, open expanses of
Middle Earth.
Legolas tried to take it all in. He tried to understand the
circumstances behind his need to leave his home. Shierra tried to
explain at night around the fire, but Legolas could not fully
understand. The Elves in Mirkwood liked him, so he believed. Why
would they want him dead? They couldn't have all turned against him,
did they? Shierra was unsure about how many were behind the coups.
She had only heard Kayrel speak to Thranduil right before the king?s
untimely death. Untimely death, a funny saying for a Elf, any death
for them in untimely.
The young Elf would cry sometimes at night. He was very frightened and
he knew that the Elves that had been with him on this journey, and all
his life, could not stay with him when they arrived at this mysterious
land. He had never been there, all the more reason why Shierra had
chosen it. Mirkwood could never imagine that Legolas would go
somewhere he didn?t even know existed.
In the end, Legolas was still a child, that confirmation came during
one of their travels over a very large incline.
"Are we there yet?"
-----
"No word yet, Kayrel. There is no sign of him in Rivendell, so our
winged messengers report." They had sent the Eagles out shortly after
the fire was contained. The once beautiful palace was no longer
recognizable.
"Thank you, you may leave guardsmen." The Elf left the mighty ruler
alone with his top aide, a sinister Elf named Garron.
"Why do you still search for him, Kayrel?"
"He is the only one who can threaten me. Even Lord Elrond has not came
forward to challenge me. However, he can challenge me by blood."
"There is no way he could have escaped the fire. We would have seen
his departure."
"We never found a body, Garron."
Kayrel stared to the stars, "Something tells me not to give up until
proof of his death is presented before me. Keep up your search, for it
has only been a few days. Smoke still rises from the castle, and we
have yet to find any sign of him."
"Even is he did survive, he could not survive out there in the
wilderness unaided. He is but a child, and raised as a prince in
addition to that. He will not be able to fend for himself."
"Do not underestimate him, Garron! The minute you do that he will
appear! Keep looking, we shall keep looking. I don't care if we have
to look for the next hundred years, I will have my answers! Now, leave
me be. I have some work to do, and a new kingdom to rule. Mirkwood
shall soon rise and be the staging ground for the takeover of all the
races of Middle Earth."
Garron slowly backed out of the room and continued down the path.
Kayrel's words, they sounded so broken, almost bordering on insanity.
No, they could not have allowed someone that mentally unstable
overthrow a monarchy that was well respected by the Elves. No, it
could not be true. He will go alone with Kayrel. They could not have
made such grievous an error.
-----
Gondor was bustling with activity. People coming and going, dragging
children and bundles around not paying attention to anyone else around
them. Elves always believed this a symptom of mortality. That one
feels their time is so precious they cannot take in the beauty that is
around them while they are in transit. Perhaps it shortens their
lives, for there is never such an urgency in the main squares of an
Elven village.
The four Elves were barely noticed. They quickly made their way out
of the main passageways into a side alley. It was deserted and none
traveled down it. Shierra pulled down her hood and knelt before
Legolas, taking his hand in hers.
"We cannot remain here with you, Legolas. We must return to Mirkwood
before they suspect anything and come looking for us. As a group we
would be found much quicker, you can remain hidden here, Legolas."
The other two Elves prepared to leave, turning to head out the way
they came. They would have to almost run to entire way back to
Mirkwood to prevent from being missed. If the three main servants to
the Prince were missing together, rumor may grow that Legolas was
ushered out of the wood alive. They could not afford to raise
suspicions, the young Elf would have a difficult time enough already.
"We must leave you now, young Prince."
Legolas had never known such fear. He was now going to be left alone
for the first time in his life, in a strange land, with people that
were not of his race. He wanted to cry, but princes do not cry.
Shierra could see the beginnings of tears and wiped them away from his
eyes.
"Do not cry, Legolas. When you grow strong, perhaps we will see each
other again."
She stood and released his small hand. When she turned to leave, she
quickly turned back to give him a close hug. She spoke quietly into
his ear.
"Remember always that you are Legolas, meaning Greenleaf. Son of King
Thranduil and the true ruler of Mirkwood."
She stood and raised her hood.
"Farewell, my Prince."
She turned and walked away, not once looking back.
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