The way to Gondor (Aragorn and Legolas fanfic)

Solving the riddle

Aragorn POV

While the boy told me what he knew, the pieces started falling into place. How could I have been so blind? Mattei talked about two someones, one that Legolas loved, and one who had apparently kissed him. And even though one part of it didn't make any sense to me, I knew that the first person was me and the second Éomer. Because why would Legolas have fled from him? And why had Éomer continuosly talked about "the elf" in his fever dreams? Because he had kissed "the elf". He had kissed Legolas.

I was both mad at and sorry for the man. Mad, as he had kissed my elf, my Legolas, and that's more than enough to be mad about. But obviously he had been rejected, which I was glad about, but I understood the man's pain. I mean, Legolas is very beautiful and sometimes I didn't understand why not everyone fell in love with him. Maybe therefore Éomer had fallen so ill, because of lovesickness? But I couldn't wrap my head around that he was in love with Legolas. It had never seemed so, and anyways, he would never kiss a good friend.

And now I also understood Legolas' strange behaviour. He was ashamed, and he felt he had betrayed me. I didn't want to think it, but in a way he had indeed done so. At least, he could have not let it happen. My heart was torn between so many feelings, that I didn't know anymore what to feel. The only thing I knew was, that I had to talk to Legolas. I needed to hear this story from him. But first I needed to talk to Éowyn. One part was still missing, and that was Éomer. She needed to speak to him and make him explain what had really happened.

"Could I have a word with you?", I asked the woman as I entered the cave. She was at her brother's side again, giving him a piece of bread to his soup. Éomer smiled at me and seemed much better. 

"Sure, what's it about?", she answered kindly.

"Maybe we could go somewhere a little more private?", I suggested, and she appruptly turned her head to me. Then she nodded slightly and gave her brother a kiss on the cheek. 

"I'll be back in a second, just shout when you need something", she told him and he grinned. 

"Yes mommy", he teased her and I had to smile. 

We went to a corner of the room and I started telling her about what I had learned from Mattei. At first, she was angry with me, that I had sat a spy on Legolas, but as she found out more about the incident, she got more and more shocked. 

"I didn't know it was that bad!", was her only statement when I was finished.

"What do you mean?", I questioned.

"It's just ... ok, let me start from the beginning. You remember the day Éomer arrived here, right? The day Haldir got wounded?", she asked.

Of course I did, it was carved into my mind with bloody letters and wouldn't let go of me for a long time. Haldir had still not waken up. 

"Well, Gimli and my brother were the ones watching him that first night. I'm sure you know how well Gimli and Haldir had gotten along, they were very fond of each other. Therefore it was no great surprise that Gimli was hit very hard by the elf's condition. What didn't make sense at first, was, that my brother, who had never before seen or talked to Haldir, would commit so much of his time to care about him. I've had my suspicions about it, which I thought would become clearer when I heard the whole story, but now I don't know anymore. Maybe I was wrong about it?", she recounted and tugged a strand of hair behind her ear. 

"What was your suspicion then?", I asked curiously, as I hadn't really elaborated this way of thought.

"That Éomer had fallen in love. With Haldir."

My jaw dropped wide open and she grinned. This was certainly not what I had expected to hear, and I was taken aback.

"But now it seems he hasn't. Because why would he kiss the wrong person?", she wondered.

The wrong person ... why did this sound so familiar? 

"It was a mistake", I said.

"I know that, it's why this whole mess even occured in the first place", Éowyn told me.

"No, I mean Éomer was mistaken. You said he spoke of "the elf" in his fever dreams, and "I should'nt have done it" and so on. He never said Legolas, not once. Éomer didn't want to kiss him. He mistook him for someone else."