Be My Voice in This Present Darkness (Legolas x OC)

~Chapter XVIII~

Vana walked over to Legolas and tapped his shoulder. Aragorn had been the only one who understood her sign-language, besides the Elves of Rivendell, though Gandalf could understand a little of it, but only the basics. Now Legolas would have to suffice, seeing as they had that strange mind-connection.

He turned. "What, Vana?"

"Please ask Éowyn where I'll be sleeping."

He nodded and walked over to Éowyn. "My lady, my comrade here is looking for a place to rest."

Éowyn blushed slightly upon seeing that Legolas was speaking to her. "Of course!" She said. "Come with me... Vana?" She looked at Vana questioningly, as she wasn't sure if she'd got Vana's name right.

Vana nodded to show Éowyn had got her name right. She followed Éowyn to the place where the women were sleeping, and set up some blankets in a corner. She lay down on them, snuggled into the warmth of the blankets, and fell asleep.

********

She woke up to a rustling next to her. It was little , no more than three years old. She was shivering with the cold, and had curled up next o Vana. Vana scooped her up and tucked her into the blankets, before standing up and walking out.

She passed a small looking frantically about him. He looked at her. "Have you seen a little girl? She has blonde hair and blue eyes and she's only two and Mom is so worried and..." He trailed off. "Have you seen her?"

Vana nodded and closed her eyes and tilted her head to one side, with her hands tucked underneath in a sleeping motion.

The boy's face lit up. "She's asleep? Where?"

Vana pointed down the hall to where she had left the little girl. The small boy took off to the small pile of blankets.

"Astrid! Astrid! Wake up! Mom is really worried!"

Astrid sat up and looked innocently at him, before standing up and following him back up the corridor.

Vana gazed after them until they turned around a corner. "That could have been me and my brother."

But that wasn't her and her brother. That would never be her and her brother.

********

There was a clamour at the gate. Alarmed, Vana ran down the stairs in a hurry.

There was Aragorn, dismounting his horse. Vana lost all sense of her Elven dignity and threw herself at him in a giant bearhug, almost knocking the poor heir over.

"You're back." Vana signed, a smile on her face.

"I am." Aragorn agreed, smiling also, disentangling himself from her arms. He turned to his horse and whispered in its ear. "Mae carnen, Brego, mellon nîn." (Well done, Brego, my friend).

"He's alive!" Someone shouted.

Gimli pushed his way through the crowd. "Where is he? Where is he? Get our of the way! I'm going to kill him! You are the luckiest, the canniest, and the most reckless man I ever knew." He hugged Aragorn. "Bless you, laddie."

"Gimli, where is the king?" Aragorn asked.

Gimli nodded in the right direction. Aragorn patted his shoulder. then he walked toward the gate where Théoden was. He stopped right before he ran into Legolas, who looked at him.

"Aragorn, le abdollen." The irrepressible Elf said. (Aragorn, you're late). "You look terrible."

Aragorn laughed. Éowyn heard him and turned around. She looked on in disbelief. Legolas gave the Evenstar back to Aragorn.