Into the West (A Lord of the Rings Fan Fic)

Chapter Sixteen

“I worry about Frodo,” Amaruil admitted, the thought of what the small hobbit was going to face rising unbidden in her mind. Even she could not be entirely certain what Frodo was going to have to overcome and the thought of the unknown but powerful evil which lurked in Mordor filled her with fear, both for Frodo and for what should happen if he were to fail; not a day passed by now that she did not feel the darkness mustering around them, as if they were adrift in the ocean with a storm approaching.

“Do not, I am sure he will have much help,” replied Legolas. “I know for certain that Gandalf will accompany him, as well as Sam. I also think that Elrond has decided to send Aragorn and Boromir.”

“That does reassure me somewhat,” Amaruil said quietly, “but all the same, I would rather if he were not to go at all. Of course I want him to go and to triumph,” she said quickly, “but I wish he seemed hardier,” she continued with a little laugh. “Maybe then I would worry less!”

“I think that he is hardier than he seems, perhaps even more resilient than you or I,” Legolas replied as he pulled her close to him. “Anyway, do not worry about Frodo, he will have me too.”

“You?” she exclaimed. “Why? Why are you going- why, did you offer- why?”

“Elrond asked me if I was prepared to go and I accepted,” Legolas said with a frown as he felt the beginnings of guilt tugging at his heart.

Amaruil fought against the urge to beg him to stay behind with her, where he was safe. She knew that he had to leave and to help Frodo, and in a way it made her worry less now that she knew of some of the people who were going, but she also found herself seized by a fear greater than her fear for Frodo as her mind conjured up unwanted images of Legolas lying dead somewhere, maybe in battle or maybe in some field, slain maliciously by a passing orc. Once the image was in her head it wouldn’t leave, and she found it impossible to picture a life without Legolas beside her. “When do you leave?” she asked, her voice small as she gazed at the grass beneath her feet instead of at the man in front of her.

“Soon I think,” Legolas replied, “once the last scouts have returned.”

“And… and how long do you think that it will be before you return?” she asked tremulously.

“I do not know,” he admitted quietly, “not too long I hope. Anyway, hopefully we shall succeed and then there will be many years ahead of us.”

“But what if you do not?” Amaruil whispered into his chest, her already quiet words muffled by his clothes. Legolas could think of no answer to her question and so, for the moment, he pretended that he had not heard it, and instead wrapped his arms around her, holding her to him.

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Despite the fear which hung over them, Amaruil and Legolas somehow seemed able to forget it for times and spent many hours together enjoying each other’s company, often talking about anything other than what they knew was drawing inevitably towards them, as if pretending it wasn’t happening would stop it for those precious few hours.

“What made you decide to go with Frodo?” Amaruil asked one day, when her curiosity overwhelmed her and, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop thinking about what lay ahead.

“I’m not certain,” Legolas replied slowly as he contemplated his reasons for leaving. “In one way it was because I desired to see Frodo succeed and, in another, because I would not be able to watch them leave without doing all I could to help. Middle Earth is my home and for me not to do all I could to save it from Sauron is akin to giving up on it and leaving it to die; no I could not do that,” he said. “Also it is, in a way, my duty to go because Elrond asked me; though it is a duty, it is also an honour and I would gladly do all I can.”