Fallen Leafs, Part XVIII
by Areli

-----

Aragorn burst into the castle to find it completely empty. 

"What...?" He asked slowly as he walked around. His heavy footsteps echoed against the dark walls.  

Gimli charged in a few paces behind, axe raised. He too stopped and looked around in utter confusion.  

"Where are they? This place was swarming with creatures!" Aragorn yelled in frustration.  

They raced up the nearest flight of stairs they could take and found the hallway and the rooms around the hallways to be empty. 

"This is not possible!" Gimli yelled as they ran. "They could not have left so quickly without our notice!"  

They ran down the hallway and up another flight of stairs and found no one.  

Gimli threw his axe to the ground in complete annoyance and frustration.  

"Where is Legolas!" he yelled to no one.  

Aragorn sniffed the air much like that of a wolf and was happy he could pick up the strong stench of the orcs close to his left. 

"This way." he said. Gimli grumbled and picked up his axe. 

"Let us hope this has not all been in vain."  

The two companions rushed down a narrow hallway that had been carefully tucked away in the back of the castle. They could hear the cries of the orcs and the air grew foul with their stench. 

"They are close." Aragorn commented softly. Gimli nodded and tightened his grip on his axe. Aragorn reached for his sword he had not yet taken out.  

They found a door that was filled with sounds of the orcs and many other creatures of Mordor.  

Silently they opened the door and found twenty goblins and orcs crowded around something on the ground. 

Before the creatures could react they died by Aragorn's sword and Gimli's axe. 

Gimli wiped off his axe proudly.  

"Ah and 12 fell to you today." he said.  

"Gimli! Look!" Aragorn cried.  

Gimli watched as Aragorn ran over to where the creatures had been concentrated the most and pulled their dead bodies off of the object they had been crowded around. Gimli's face paled when he saw what it was.  

Legolas.  

"Is he dead?" Gimli asked as he rushed over. Aragorn did not answer for a moment as he just stared in utter horror at Legolas. 

His clothes were tattered and cuts completely covered his body. His hair had come undone and strayed on to his face. His weapons were nowhere in sight.  

"Yes..." Aragorn said when he realized that Legolas' was cold and pale. Death had crossed his face long before they had arrived.  

"When could they have done this?" Gimli asked, attempting to hold back his tears he thought he would never have for an elf. 

Aragorn thought for a moment. 

"During the battle. I called for his name and he did not respond. He may have been slain then."  

Aragorn looked down at Legolas in great remorse. 

"They most likely have the ring."  

"Then all is lost..." Gimli said sadly. Aragorn snapped out of his sadness and picked up Legolas' body. 

"This place is not fit to be Legolas' resting place." he said. "We will have to present his body to Thranduil." 

"It will be a most unwelcome reunion." Gimli commented bitterly as they walked down the hallway.  

They met Gandalf near the entrance of the castle. Tears even filled Gandalf's eyes when he realized what had happened. 

"No..." he uttered. "This...cannot be..."  

Aragorn nodded sadly. Gimli did not look at the old wizard.  

"We must give Legolas to Thranduil. It is only proper."  

"This does not bode well in the least. They have the ring I can only assume?" Aragorn nodded. "All is lost." Gandalf said in disgust and walked out of the empty castle. Aragorn and Gimli followed closely behind.  

 

Thranduil cried out in anguish at the sight of his beloved son's body. 

"Legolas! My son!" he sobbed cradeling Legolas' head. Aragorn laid him gently down to the ground.  

The elves of the army gathered around them, forming a small circle. Their looks of horror and sadness spoke for them. Silence crept into the air save for a slight wind and Thranduil's cries.  

The three remaining companions of the Fellowship stayed with the evles that night as songs of remorse flooded the campsites around them. One ongoing song was: 

 

(Thank you amaelgreenleaf for the translation into Elvish!) 

Legolas i' astaldinin  

Ohtar ya dagore  

E' i' ohtaea  

Thar Mordor.  

Sut naaya lle  

Lantae a'halyar?  

Calen lasse  

E' i' gurtha  

Tanya nae Mirkwood  

Sii' lle naa aute...  

Legolas i'  

Lantae lasse  

Lle aa'tanya  

Ten'oio yanwa  

I' gilea e' Arvandor  

Ar' sila llea  

Me'a ndu deno'lye.  

 

Legolas the bravest 

Warrior who fought 

In the wars  

Against Mordor. 

How could you have 

Fallen to shadows? 

A greenleaf  

In the death 

That was Mirkwood 

Now you are gone... 

Legolas the  

Fallen leaf 

You may now 

Forever join 

The stars above 

And shine your 

Light down upon us. 

 

The moon was falling into the horizon when Aragorn was awakened by Gandalf.  

"Thranduil has died through the night." Gandalf whispered so as not to wake the elves surrounding them."  

"What?" Aragorn whispered fiercly. 

"From grief because of his son."  

"Who will rule Mirkwood?" Aragorn questioned. 

"I am uncertain. That is not my concern. Another bit of news has given cause enough for me to not keep my news until dawn. They were changing Legolas into death robes and found the ring hidden in a pocket not even they had known existed." 

That must have been why the orcs and goblins were searching him so frantically... Aragorn thought numbly.  

"The ring must be destroyed. By you." Aragorn's eyes widened.  

"Me? Why?"  

"Only you were once tempted by the ring and dismissed it." Gandalf said. Aragorn's eyes narrowed as a look of confusion graced his face. 

"How is it that you know of that?" Gandalf helped Aragorn to his feet and got his sword. 

"I am afraid I have no time for explanations. The ring you will find in Thranduil's tent down there." he said pointing his staff at the largest tent in the camp.  

Aragorn nodded and before his mind could fully contemplate what he was doing, he found himself asking permission to go into the tent. 

"What buisness have you?" the guard asked coldly. 

"Weinlyeon! Let him through!" he heard Gandalf the White call. The guard bowed and moved for Aragorn to proceed.  

The tent was quiet with three large torches lighting up the bodies of Thranduil and Legolas.  

Aragorn was surprised at how quickly Legolas had been cleaned and dressed with white robes. He surprisingly looked peaceful to Aragorn. Thranduil looked peaceful as well he decided as he looked at the wooden table that was placed in between the two tables they were on. They appeared to have been fashioned in a hurry which Aragorn did not doubt.  

On the small table sat the ring. The cause of all their pain. 

Gritting his teeth Aragorn reached for the ring and quickly shoved it in his pocket.  

He set out just as the sun began to replace the full moon. He reached the gates of Mordor by the time the sun hung softly in the air.  

No one was outside of Mordor but the castle was apparently crawling with creatures for Aragorn could hear their foul cries as he guessed they madly searched for the ring that he held in his pocket.  

Swiftly and nearly silently he walked up the pathway to Mt. Doom and did not stop for an instand until he reached the very top of the mountain.  

He gazed down at the endless pool of lava and fire and withdrew the ring from his pocket. 

Aragorn averted his gaze from the ring as his hand tossed it quickly into the fires of Mt. Doom. 

He watched the cause of all of his sufferings and pains sink beneath the waves of fire and said a quick prayer that such a thing would never happen again.  

Aragorn quickly left Mordor before the creatures could guess what had happened.  

He heard Sauron's screams of rage just as he reached the elven camp. 

"What happened?" An elf asked him. 

"The ring..." he huffed, out of breath from his run. "I destroyed..." 

"The ring! The ring has been destroyed!" The elf's voice rang out.  

Shouts of joy could be heard throughout the camp. Gandalf rushed up to Aragorn and broke out into a huge smile. 

"I knew you would be the one to do it." he said happily. He swept Aragorn up into his arms and hugged him tightly. "This has been a day of victory for the creatures of Middle-Earth."  

"It was surprisingly easy as well." Aragorn commented. 

"That is why I awoke you when I did. I knew they would be distracted looking for the ring that wasn't there. Too distracted to notice a human running around in their lands." Gandalf said with a slight wink.  

"Come now, we have matters to discuss and two burials to perform."  

For the rest of the day they packed up their camp and reached Lothlorien by nightfall. 

There they buried Thranduil and Legolas and together the elves from both Lorien and Mirkwood joined together to perfom the cermonies associated with the burial.  

They discussed who should rule Mirkwood now that both of it's rulers were dead. 

Aragorn and Gimli did not care much for the discussion and wandered around Lothlorien in search of solitude and comfort they could not find.  

Weeks passed before a desicion was made, allowing Aragorn to travel to Gondor in order to bring news of Boromoir's death and his claim to the throne. Gimli traveled to the Glittering Caves as he had always dreamed of seeing them. Something drew him to the forest of Fangorn as well although he did not care for forests. It simply reminded him of Legolas, the friend he almost had... 

Gandalf traveled to Rohan and Gondor to give them news of Mirkwood and the ring and after many years of bringing order to the newfound chaos, returned to Hobbiton where he brought news of what had happened.  

The history of the ring of power eventually faded into a mere legend that was passed by word of mouth for centuries to come. That is, until in the 1930's I believe one man listened to these legends and wrote them down into a book (Although I do believe he twisted the legend to his own liking). 

 

The End

| Index |