With my stories, you have to think a little deeper. O_o
THIS IS IMPORTANT
Earth: Fanteore
Air: Winzar
Fire/Ice: Flaydrix
Water: Aquisan
Light: Delana
Storm: Darunis
Healing: Lifana
Holy: Blymur
Electricity: Shaxen
Ice: Frezar
Mind: Gurashi
Fire: Raifal
"Enfain"
by GreenLeaf33
Part Three: Lover's Impunity
"Where
has she fled!" The dark lord roared, throwing open the heavy chamber door.
The
Lady Arwen staggered to her feet, exhausted by her previous battle, and
quaked at the sight of the Dark Lord.
"Where
is the general!" The elf roared again, his blue eyes flaming like candlelight.
Nervously,
she braced herself, her soft courage breaking at the sight of the irate
Black Lord.
"The
Lady has not come back here." She stated, surprised at the firmness of
her voice. Legolas Greenleaf was not impressed. He made as if to lunge
for her, but of a sudden, a long fingered hand gripped his leader in an
iron clutch.
Legolas
spun, wrenching himself free, and glared at the one who dared lay a hand
upon him. His anger cooled when he looked up into the confused, angry face
of Aragorn.
"Legolas!
What are you about?!"
The
other man blinked, as if shaking himself from a trance.
"I-I
know not..." He murmured, looking from his best friend, to the small woman
behind him.
"No...I
know not..." Legolas shook his golden-haired head, shrugging his tan tunic
back into place.
He
frowned at Aragorn, who continued to watch him warily, anxious at the fear
evident in the Lady Arwen's face.
The
Dark Lord turned to the girl, bowing slightly.
"Forgive
me, Milady. I know not what just befell me. I fear mayhap I am ill..."
He said gruffly, his anger faded.
"I-If
you see the general, tell her we have much to...Discuss."
He
strode from the room.
Aragorn
shut the portal behind him, quickly striding to the gown clad girl who
had sank to the edge of an ivory settee.
He
was about to comfort her. Embrace her. When he realized what he was doing.
He stood in front of her, watching her, When she looked up, craning her
neck to his tall height.
For
a moment, they both stared.
To
her, with his handsome face at ease, and his long black hair loose around
his shoulders, he was once again the embodiment of love, passion and care
from her youth.
To
him, with her raised amber eyes, and her beautiful faced filled with confused
longing and bewildered pain, she was once again the sweet love of his younger
days.
"Arwen,
I-"
He
stopped, remembering the conversation with General Lyana on the balcony
hours earlier.
Abruptly,
he steeled himself. Cursing his lack of courage.
"Yes,
Milord?" She whispered sadly, and Aragorn's heart broke. Four years of
pent up pain and longing tore his soul apart like ashes in the wind, brushing
powdered grey remnants of love across his heart.
That
term was like a slanderous curse, wrenching his shredded heart from the
immersing pitch of bitterness.
Swearing,
he threw himself across the room, spacing them apart. He ran a lean fingered
hand through his hair
"Damn
you!" He growled. "Damn you!"
Arwen
shrank back into the couch, fearful of his vehemence.
"I
was getting along fine without you! You were fading from my life, my heart!
And then Legolas decides to kidnap the women from Tarquin Castle, and I
'knew' you would be among them!"
Aragorn
stopped, breathing deeply and calming himself. When the tall knight spoke
again, it was with a cold resilience that frightened Arwen.
"But
you have returned. And your betrayal of our love is as deep as mine."
Shakily,
Arwen drew her shattered self up from the couch, straightening her tiny
frame courageously.
" 'My'
betrayal of 'our' love?" She whispered dangerously, and raised a pale hand
to her temple. She turned to the man, her eyes sparking with tears.
"I
thought you dead! In all the years of your disappearance, did you once
seek me out?"
Aragorn's
face saddened, his voice sorrowful. "I only sought to keep you safe!" He
stepped to her, his large hand closing around her angry palm.
"Legolas
is a hard man to trust, and the men we work with are not always loyal!"
Aragorn dropped his dark gaze from her own, studying her tiny slippered
feet. "If they found the...Weakness...I have for you, do you think they
would not use it against me? I am of the Dark Kingdom now! I cannot love
you!"
Arwen
watched him tearfully, her hand reaching to touch his cheek.
"But
you do..."
He
met her gaze squarely, unflinching. "Aye. I do. I always have." He leaned
into her palm, aching for the touch he had lost so long ago, and wept for
over the long, lonely years.
"I
have loved you since the first time I saw you, trying to string that bow
all alone..."
The
Lady smiled through her tears, longing to reach the heart of the boy she
knew once again.
"Aye...That
I remember. Your comrades mocked me, but you only smiled, and taught me
how. And you continued to help me...Training me in the skills of an archer
until even you could not beat me."
The
Dark Knight nodded seriously, remembering the feel of her lithe young body
in the awkward arms of his youth. The joy she had drowned his soul in.
The pain her betrayal had wrought...
"Even
now I hide behind the loss of you. When I caught word of your impending
nuptials...I was glad we were going to capture you..."
With
sudden ferocity, he clamped his fingers round her waist, pulling her body
against his hard armor, bruising her.
"I
would have killed him!" He hissed, his eyes burning. "I would have murdered
him in cold blood had he but lay a finger upon your body!"
Lady
Arwen was unafraid, behind the fierce emotions lay his gentle soul, and
he would not hurt her.
"Lord
Boromir is not at fault, Aragorn. I consented to his suit..."
Aragorn
shook her gently, his long black hair falling over his shoulder. "Why?"
He mouthed, and Arwen looked away, her golden eyes saddened.
"I
grieved for you. I grieved for you until the moment you strode into the
battle tent. Then I grieved for you of different reasons..."
The
missing Lord of the Aquisan Kingdom cringed, releasing his fierce grip
on her, and backing away.
"She
has wept the days through, bemoaning the loss of her young lover, and the
gain of the cold reflection" He quoted bitterly, and Arwen turned wide-
eyed to him.
"Aye!
I have! For you are not the man I loved!" She sank to the floor, overwhelmed
by pain.
"Only
his cold, empty armor..."
The
man closed his eyes, his dark-haired head lowered as they stood in silence.
"We
have changed..." He began softy.
"Our
love has not." She stated firmly, and Aragorn raised his head, hope flaring
in his dark eyes.
"Hasn't
it? you say yourself I am now cold, and you have grown into a beautiful
women...Not the naïve lass I remember..."
Arwen
crossed the oriental carpet, with every slippered step, closing the aching
distance between their hearts.
"You
are the boy I loved...And the man I love now. I can see it in your eyes
when you look at me."
Aragorn
leaned his forehead against hers, his black hair sliding across her face.
"I
would have you as the girl or the women, for I love you so..."
They
kissed for the first time in four years, and the heavens exploded.
"Where
is the maiden, Lyana Faren!" Lord Greenleaf railed for what seemed like
the hundredth time, to any passing guard, lord or lady.
Finally,
his irate search prevailed.
The
young lady was in the empty library, curled upon a window seat in her battle
gear, her slender sword lying limply on the floor.
At
his striding approach, she turned away from the window, resigned to her
fate.
"I
would not for the world let you touch me again, Milord. " She murmured,
and Legolas's ire grew.
"You
have no choice, elf! For you are mine now!"
Unfolding
her sleek body from the window seat, she stood defiantly before him. Chin
jutting and eyes fearful but blazing.
"I
know not of what you speak, Milord."
Legolas
scowled, yanking her forward in a quick, agile movement.
"Do
you not?" He roughly ran a hand through her copper hair, overwhelmed by
the weakening desire to hold her close, and thrusting it away with a vengeance.
"You
submitted to me, elf. You have given me your maidenhead, and by Flaydrix
law you are mine to do as I please."
Ripping
herself from his embrace, Lady Lyana snapped.
"I
am not of the Flaydrix Kingdom! I am a lady of Winzar!"
Legolas
grabbed her again, the need to bind her to him pulsating in his veins like
liquid pain.
There
was something comforting about her presence. Something that broke through
some of the shadows within him, setting free his soul.
"Flaydrix
spies report your father will submit to me, and shall become part of the
Flaydrix Kingdom."
Lyana's
eyes widened in horror, and Legolas felt guilt emerge from the breach in
his blackness.
'Vicious
angel...' He thought savagely at the look in her eyes, replacing the horror.
"Lord
Garreck will not submit!"
Legolas
jerked her to him, his mouth an inch from her own.
"Then
he is as good as dead!" He bit out, instantly regretting it.
Her
olive eyes widened, and she punched at his chest, trying to break free.
Legolas tried to summon some of his ice magic, to bind her, but his soul
would not allow it. Instead, he crushed his mouth to hers, feeling some
of her anger melt into painful desire.
Their
tongues dueled, even as he felt tears falling down her soft cheeks like
rose petals. She let out a keening moan, and he broke away, letting her
sob into his chest.
Overcome
by an odd feeling of torture and tenderness, he patted her hair, burying
his face in the amber mass.
"Ssshhh"
He soothed, staring out the window as she struggled to escape his arms.
It hurt to know she would not hold him as he held her.
"I
will not kill them, elf. I will not need to. Your father is a wise man.
He knows the futility of war, and the good I will bring as lord..."
Her
sobbing subsided, and she weakly forced his arms off her, relenting, he
let them fall to his sides.
"You
are the Lord of Darkness! You do not know the meaning of good."
Pain
flickered through him, and he thrust it away, once again angry.
"It
is not so, elf. There are two sides to every war. The good, and the bad.
It had fallen on me to portray the villain. If I was the Lord of Sin, as
they call me, why have I not killed the womenfolk whence they slept? Or
burned and pillaged the villages my army has captured?"
Lyana
had no answers, and bowed her head. It was true, she realized. Legolas
had shown her nothing but kindness, fairness...And pain.
"If
you are so good, Milord." She stated quietly. "Then why have you lain with
me. You knew I was a virgin."
Legolas
drew her tired body to him, staring into her eyes.
"I
have never before let a women lead me. You have been the only girl I have
bedded as a virgin, and I will have no other."
Lyana's
emerald eyes grew wary at the odd tone in his usually cold voice.
"What
say you now?" She asked nervously, and Legolas's blue eyes suddenly flared
with light, startling her.
"You
shall be mine. Heart, body and soul." He grinned devilishly, "You shall
marry me."
Lyana
gasped, pushing away.
"Nay!
I cannot!"
The
Warlords eyes narrowed dangerously, their orbs sparking.
"Why?
Is there some young swain who yet hold's your heart in Winzar?"
The
auburn tressed girl softly shook her head. "Nay, sir. But there could be!"
His
eyebrow rose sardonically, mocking her with a grin. "Could be?"
"Aye!
I will not marry you because you want my body this moment! I would marry
for love!"
Legolas
laughed to throw off his sudden flash of longing.
"Love?
I have never experienced the meaning...And neither have you."
Even
as he said the words, a part of him rebuked it, screaming to him to realize
the odd stirrings the brave Light general rose in him, for what they were.
Her
eyes bespoke pain, and he frowned, turning from her.
"You
cannot deny the attraction between us."
"We
have only just met!" Lyana flared, and Legolas grinned coldly.
"It
didn't take so long to find you in my bed, milady."
When
Lyana made to whirl, to flee his disdainful presence, Legolas's arm snapped
out, painfully thrusting her against him.
"Do
not try to run from me again, betrothed." He drew out the term sarcastically,
and the girl could not believe his cruelty. Where was the tender lover?
The bewildered kisser?
Here
stood the commander of armies, slaughterer of men.
Here
stood her enemy.
"I
will not marry you!" She spat, her voice hateful, and Legolas winced outright.
Pushing
away his abrupt feelings of loss, knowing they were his own fault, Legolas
jerked her mouth to his own, his eyes burning.
"You
have no choice, General."
His
drawl was ended by his lips meeting her own. But Lyana had noticed the
odd glints of pain and hurt in those frightening eyes, and she saw that
Lord Greenleaf was not as iron as he appeared.
4 Days Later
General
Frodo Baggins stared pensively at the stone walls, watching the sun rays
filter through the tapestries covering the water, and worrying about the
prisoners of Lord Greenleaf.
"Do
you think he has harmed them?" Murmured Sam Gamgee, standind near his bed.
Glancing down up to his worried brown eyes, Frodo sighed.
"Nay.
Legolas Greenleaf is a man of his black word. He said he would not harm
them, and he shan't"
"Lady
Arwen was among them..."
"As
was Lady Lyana."
Frodo
threw off his bedcovers and attempted to organize his unruly brown hair,
then moved to comfort his friend, who was staring dully out the window.
"They
will be well. Lady Lyana is my finest fighter."
Sam
looked up at him, wrapping his arms around his midriff as if in fear.
"What
of our traitorous friend?" he whispered, tears springing into his gaze.
Frodo had no words of comfort for him at that. Lord Elrond had betrayed
the Light Kingdom, taking the Raifal fire armies with them.
"Lord
Elrond's loyalties have shown where they truly lie, dear friend. I cannot
give you solace."
Understandingly,
Sam nodded his head
"You
need say no more, Lord Frodo. I find no fault in you for being angry. Elrond
has betrayed me also..."
Frodo
nodded, smiling sadly.
"I
must assemble my council. Kindly send for the Gurashi Priest, for he needs
to be in attendance."
Sam
nodded, frowning.
"Frodo.
You and I know his loyalties lie with neither Light nor Dark...Why send
for him?"
The
general pulled on his boots and strapped on his sword.
"I
would have him use his powers to assure me of the safety of the prisoners."
Understanding
dawned on Sam's face, and he bid him farewell, going to seek aid with the
messenger.
Frodo
sent his own messenger to gather his remaining leader, before adjourning
to the briefing room.
Mayhap
all was not lost.
"There
is no chance in hell!" Roared Lord Boromir, also Commander of a small regiment
of Light soldiers.
Frodo
rubbed his temples, exasperated with his elder friend's outrageous lack
of faith.
"There
is always a chance." He stated calmly, just as a knock sounded at the portal.
"Come
in." He sighed, closing his bright blue eyes.
"I
sense you are feeling frustrated." Came the gravelly almost whisper of
Gandalf.
"Bah!
You needn't have used your damn psychic powers to tell me that!" He growled,
as the wisened man entered.
Priest
Gandalf calmly sat down, watching the angry leaders.
Lord
Boromir sat fingering his icy blade, his matching eyes mutinous. And General
Frodo, leader of Light, sat, head bowed, in his chair.
"What
have you summoned me for, Milord's?"
Frodo
looked up, the blatant plea in his eyes almost painful to bear.
"The
Black Lord has kidnapped some of the womenfolk who were visiting Tarquin
on the day's before the Battle of Blood. I need you to tell me if they
are alive."
Gandalf
raised his slate eyes to Frodo. "You know the extent of my powers. I could
tell you their exact thoughts even from this great a distance, but I will
not meddle with Legolas Greenleaf. This is not my war."
Frodo
nodded, adding a thought. "Just tell me if they are well, and what they
do."
Nodding,
The priest closed his wise eyes, concentrating
Images
flashed through his mind, glimpses of well-clad women, and fierce embraces.
Tears and fears and Ivory clad generals...
Abruptly,
blackness surged through his mind, and he sensed the turmoil in the heart
of a Black Lord.
Opening
his intent gaze, he frowned at Frodo and his brother.
"The
blackness is welcoming the light." He murmured, before totally rising from
his vision.
Wearily,
The Lords watched him, each intent on their duties to another.
"How
is the Lady Arwen?" Queried Boromir, leaning forward, and Frodo interuppted
him.
"Is
General Lyana living?"
Priest
Gandalf frowned, and they backed away. He remained silent, thinking how
best to tell them.
"There
is much to say, as the lost and losing draw to a close."
Frodo
snapped, his blue eyes angry.
"What
say you? Cease your riddles! I have not the time!"
The
priest sighed, looking at the man straight in the eyes.
"The
'prisoners' are alive and well."
Frodo
growled ominously. "What say you with such sarcasm? "
"They
are living well, decked in the finest silks and laces. They want for nothing."
He cast a pitying eye to Boromir, his voice softened.
"It
would seem the Lady Arwen has been reunited with her love, milord..." Boromir
frowned, confused.
"You
don't mean...?" He shook his head. "Lord Aragorn has been dead four years
past."
Gandalf
sighed "Nay. He and the Lady are together as surely as you are here with
I."
Boromir
slammed a fist into the table, his rage supreme. "Damn that Elrond! He
led the Lord Aragorn into that trap, and now we find death has not gripped
him in its iron fangs! Instead, venomous spite has fallen upon us 'as surely
as you are here with I' !" He snarled, but the priest merely turned to
Frodo.
"I
fear I give you worse news. Lord Frodo, for the General is in far more
dire straits then Lady Arwen and the other women."
Frodo
stood, clenching his fists.
"What
speak you of! I would know what has befallen my general!"
Gandalf
sighed again gustily, confusion evident on his usually impassive face.
"I understand not, but I fear the worst, and hope the best. Lady Lyana
has been wed."
Frodo
sat back down, shocked.
"W-what...To
whom?"
Gandalf
looked him dead in the eye. Fog meeting the sky.
"To
darkness."
Frodo's
hand shot across the table, so great was his fury, and hefted the unfazed
man from his seat.
"To
whom, damn you!"
"To
Lord Legolas Greenleaf, commander of the dark Army, and Lord of the Flaydrix
Kingdom."
Frodo
was so stunned, he dazedly leaned back into his seat, speechless.
Boromir
though, drew himself up,
"Then
all 'is' lost, for with the Winzar, Fanteore and Aquisan kingdoms behind
Flaydrix, all that is left is Delana, Frezar and Lifana. And now with Elrond
backing Flaydrix, we know not whether Lady Eowyn's Lifana Kingdom lies
with us or not. And even if it does, they do not fight!"
The
hobbit fell back with an angry groan, covering his face with his hands.
The
fellow Lord sighed, standing. "Aye, Legolas has the Kingdoms of Flaydrix,
with is the combination of ice and fire. Legolas also has Lady Arwen, therefore
Fanteore, or the Plant Kingdom. With Lyana as his bride, Winzar, the Air
kingdom. If Lord Aragorn is living, then the Aquisan, or Water kingdom,
is with him. With the allies of Lord Elrond, he has the Raifal, or Fire
kingdom with him, as well as Sergeant Gimli, the Storm kingdom.
Peregin
Took is his allie, so the Shaxen or Lightening Kingdom, is with him"
Sighing
again, he sunk into his chair.
"You
are right friend, we have no chance in hell. But we shall die trying..."