The History of Legolas - From Light to Shadow

Author’s Note: First off, The Lord of the Rings and all associated characters belong to Tolkien and his estate. I am not making any profit off of this story, save the enjoyment I had making it.
Please note that this is a sequel to The History of Legolas Part I – Thranduil and Almwen. You’ll want to read that before diving into this one.
Thanks again to SpaceWeavil and VanatheEverYoung for their help!
Thank you so much to the Open Scrolls Archive for making this Story of the Day for December 5th, 2007!!!



It was a cool night in Greenwood. The moon shone down brightly on Emyn Duir as Almwen slipped under the covers in her bedchamber in the palace. She had lived there for ten years, waiting for Thranduil, her husband, to return.

The first year had been harder than most. The separation was almost too much to bear. She feared for his life with almost every breath she took, and wondered every night when she would look at the stars if he was looking at the same constellations and longing for her as she longed for him.

Though the ache in her heart never went away, she did learn to live with it. Almwen occupied herself with daily activities in the palace, learning some of her new duties as the princess of Greenwood and adjusting to her new life. Her mother and father moved into the palace with her, living in an apartment just adjacent to Thranduil’s and Oropher’s.

Almwen sighed as she wondered how many more nights she would spend alone. She rolled onto her side under the smooth sheets on her feather bed and closed her eyes. She breathed deeply, trying to relax herself. For some reason, she was tense this night. The elleth sensed that something was afoot in Greenwood, but she could not place her finger on the cause for her excitement.

She dismissed the idea of the return of Greenwood’s army almost immediately, for she was certain that if the war was over, some word would be sent to Emyn Duir to calm the fears of all the elves there.

~

Meanwhile, Thranduil sat upon his white steed, silently leading his troops back to Emyn Duir.

The war was won, and though they should have been merry, the elves were quiet and mournful. Feeling beaten and broken, the elves of Greenwood set out for their home nearly two days after the defeat of Sauron. They had traveled since then, only stopping to allow their horses rest. They were disheveled and a sorry sight to behold. Though, they were few in number. During the Siege of Barad-Dûr, they had lost nearly two-thirds of their army. And in the earlier Battle of Dagorlad, Oropher himself had fallen.

Thranduil caught the lump rising in his throat as he thought about his father, whose sword was attached to his horse’s saddle, being carried back to Emyn Duir to honor the fallen King in some sort of a memorial that was yet to be decided. Thranduil wanted to bear his father’s body back to Greenwood, but he knew that if he brought Oropher back, he would be obligated to bring back all of the fallen elves’ bodies, and there were far too many to fathom.

The prince looked up and saw the peaks of the mountains and he knew he was nearly home. His mind was suddenly filled with thoughts of Almwen and how he ached to hold her in his arms and smell her ebony hair. He nudged his horse to go a little faster, hoping to reach home sooner.

He could not hold his tears much longer.

~

Finding herself unable to sleep, Almwen rose from her bed and went to the open window. She closed her eyes and listened to the song of the trees. A sad song rose from them, causing the elleth’s brow to furrow.

“Such a sad song,” she said quietly. “What causes your sorrow?” Almwen asked no one.

She lingered in the window for a while, listening to the trees, and pondering their mournful tune as it lulled her into a calm state, ready for sleep. Fatigue finally making her eyes heavy, she made her way back to her bed.

As she slipped under the covers and into a mysterious dream, she thought she heard horses hooves outside her window.

~

Thranduil had barely shed his armor before he went to Almwen’s chambers. Quietly, he opened her door and entered her room to see her sleeping soundly in her bed. Bathed in the blue hue of the moon, Thranduil thought her to be an angel.

If it was possible, the prince thought he was falling in love with her all over again. After ten years of separation, his memory of the light in her eyes had begun to fade and he had strained to remember her voice. But now with her right before his eyes, his memories came flooding back to him like a wave crashing on the shore of the sea.

He went to her bedside and kneeled there and took her hand that was gracefully rested upon her pillow next to her head and kissed the back of it. He did not wish to wake her, but the prince could not keep himself away from her any longer.

Almwen’s eyes fluttered open at his touch. It took her a moment to blink her blurry vision away and to realize who was at her side.

“This is a dream,” she gasped, sitting up in bed. Thranduil rose to his feet and sat back down next to her. He traced her hairline with his fingers and let his hand come to rest on her cheek.

“Then it is a wonderful dream.” Thranduil said, his blue eyes glistening with tears.

A sob escaped Almwen’s mouth and tears came from her eyes as she threw her arms around Thranduil’s shoulders, holding tight to his firm and muscular body as he embraced her small frame, burying his face in her dark and silky hair. He breathed deep the scent of pine that always lingered in her presence. The tears that he had been holding back flowed freely from his eyes as he felt his lover’s warm embrace once again.

“Almwen…” Thranduil said, his voice cracking with emotion.

The elleth, never having heard such a sob escape her lover’s mouth, broke her embrace to look upon him.

“Thranduil, what ails you?” She asked, reaching up and wiping the tears from his war-worn face with her thumb. Thranduil took her hand in his and held it tightly and looked away from her for a moment. He squeezed his eyes shut and sighed as he prepared to tell his tale.

“My father thought we could operate as a separate army from Lord Gil-Galad and Lord Elendil. We were so poorly prepared for what we faced, Almwen. Father, for his pride could not see the disaster that we walked into…” Thranduil stopped for a moment, holding back more tears.

“Thranduil?” Almwen asked, looking deep into his blue eyes.

“Ada…he…” the prince’s voice broke again. “…He fell.”

With his last words, Thranduil’s final hold on his emotions broke and he began to weep openly as he had not allowed himself to do in front of his men. Never before had he shed tears in front of Almwen, or any other elf for that matter, and if he were not so horribly pained, Thranduil might have felt embarrassed.

Almwen’s heart cried out in sympathy with her lover’s pain as she leaned forward and kissed his salty tears away and pulled his body close to hers, allowing him to cry on her shoulder as he once did for her. She stroked his golden hair, ridding it of the tangles that had accumulated there over his journey home.

In truth, Almwen was very surprised at Thranduil’s openness. She had never seen him so utterly broken before, and it pained her to know that there was nothing she could do to ease the pain of Oropher’s passing.

Though Thranduil had always looked down on the King’s frivolous parties and abundant sense of humor, Almwen knew that Thranduil loved his father deeply. His father had been the only person who had been there for Thranduil since the beginning of his life.

After a time, Thranduil’s tears began to wane, and Almwen gently laid him down on her bed and curled up next to him, kissing his cheek again and running her fingers over his hairline. Thranduil closed his eyes and felt her caress, never so happy to be with Almwen then now.

He opened his red and weary eyes and smiled. “Melin le.” He whispered.

“Melin le,” Almwen breathed.

Thranduil nudged his face close to hers and touched her lips with his and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. And in the warmth of each other’s body, they found comfort and drifted into a deep and dream-filled sleep.