A Time To Forget

Legend: [[Galadriel Speaking to the person's mind directly]]

It had been almost a week and Legolas judged that Calenuir was strong enough physically and emotionally to make their way to Caras Galadhon. He had given the youth a new name and enough words in Sindarin for him to at least fit in with the other elves. Lastly and most importantly Calenuir had at last overcome his reserve and accepted Legolas’ offer of friendship.

As he was making breakfast for himself and his youthful companion, he suddenly heard her voice in his head, [[ “Legolas, whether the boy is ready or not, your companions of the quest need your calming presence especially Aragorn. Wait where you are and I am sending my Marchwarden Haldir to collect you. I have instructed him that neither you nor the boy need to be blindfolded.

One more thing you must warn him of my being able to speak to him in his mind, something tells me that his mind is not stable enough to handle such a method of communication quite yet.]]”

“My Lady, I thank you and will await Haldir and fear not for I believe the boy is as ready as he can be for this. Perhaps you should use me to pass on your wisdom for now.” Legolas thought back.

It was at that moment that Calenuir had joined him by the fire and was looking at him worriedly, “Legolas are you alright? You looked as though you thoughts were far away from here.”

Instead of answering he handed the youth a bowl of porridge with berries in it and a spoon. As Calenuir sat down on the log that they had been using as seating since they arrived, Legolas took his own bowl and spoon then sat down beside him.

“Fear not my young friend, I am quite well, however there is something I must speak with you about before we make our way to the heart of Lothlorien. Firstly there is another important elf that is coming to take us to meet the Lord and Lady of this realm, so do not be afraid. He may be a little unfriendly, but that is only because it is rare to have humans come to this forest and he is the one in charge of its protection. Do you understand?” At Calenuir’s hesitant nod he continued.

“Now as part of that protection this realm is ruled over by the Lady of Light, the Lady Galadriel. You see, she has a special gift that allows her to see into the minds of all who enter here and thus know their intentions. Some call her an evil sorceress because of this and the fact that she can also speak directly into your mind as well.” Legolas stopped at that point to gauge what his friend’s reaction was.

Indeed Calenuir had gone pale and was beginning to shake so much that he spilled his breakfast over himself. But Legolas was quick to come to his aid, taking the bowl from him and pulling him into a hug to try and calm him down.

“Shush now, young one you have nothing to fear from the Lady as she has already indicated that she will not do this to you without your permission. She already knows that your mind is troubled and this course of action would cause you much stress. Instead I will tell you what she says to you until you feel comfortable enough to allow her access. Will that be acceptable to you, Calenuir?”

“You won’t leave my side or let her hurt me while we are there, will you, Legolas?” Calenuir had pulled away and was piercing him with those emerald eyes that at the moment were as cold and sharp as newly hewn emerald stones.

“No, I promise I will not leave you unless you agree to it first and I certainly will not let anyone hurt you ever again. But Calenuir you must also be aware that I also have a duty to Middle Earth and to my father’s kingdom of Mirkwood. Should it be necessary for me to be away from you, I will make sure that you are protected by only those that I trust implicitly. I would protect you and lay down my life for you as I would for any of those I call friends.” The elf replied steadfastly meeting those shards of green.

Finally the boy nodded and together they gathered some warm water and cleaned the spilled food of the boys only clothes. After finally finishing their breakfast, they packed up the campsite and sat down to wait for their escort.

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Meanwhile in the elven city, Boromir had decided that perhaps the dwarf was right about supporting Aragorn instead of arguing with him. Whether he liked it or not, Aragorn was now the leader and Boromir had sworn to see this done and would not go back on his word of honour.

So it was later in the morning Boromir made his way back to the pavilion where the rest of the fellowship were staying and sought out Aragorn.

He found him teaching Merry and Pippin how to use their swords, a job which Boromir himself had taken on as he was becoming quite fond of the two and did not wish to see them harmed if he could help it. Walking towards Aragorn he decided for the sake of the fellowship that his apology needed to be public that no one would be able to question his loyalty again.

Frodo and Sam were inside of the tent and were eating while listening avidly to some tale Gimli was telling about his homeland.

“Aragorn, may I interrupt you for a moment as I wish clear up this ill feeling between us.” Boromir called resolutely as he got closer to where the combatants were practicing. They immediately stopped and Boromir was also aware that the others had also exited the tent to stand with their fellows.

“Ai, Boromir you are right, it is not good for us to be so divided when all here are needed if we are to complete our quest. Especially with Gandalf no longer with us and Legolas’ participation in doubt, we must now rely even more on each other.

You were right to offer me your counsel and I should have at least acknowledged your concerns and agreed to consider what you suggested. While I may not have agreed with your advice the fact that you are also a soldier and a leader should have been enough to give it some credence.

My only excuse for myself was that I was not expecting to lose a good friend and advisor so soon into our quest, and certainly not expecting to have to step into his shoes immediately.” With that the man from Rivendell held out his hand and the man from Gondor took it.

“I am sorry that I made your task that much harder, Aragorn, but you must know that my only concern is the safety of this fellowship and us achieving our goal. I have nothing against Legolas personally but you must know that as long as I foresee that boy as a possible threat to our safety I will continue to speak out.” Boromir stood up straighter and stared into Aragorn’s sad grey eyes.

“I understand and agree that is as it should be, now would you like to take over training these trouble makers as they have worn me out already.” Aragorn grinned for the first time in many days.