Where Shadows Breathe [Legolas Fanfiction] :on hold:

Chapter Twelve: Sussurrus

Day arose but the sun did not. A grey gathering of clouds was all there was to be seen through the thick weaving of branches. Elbereth Githoniel, a curtain was falling around us, but what it was covering refused to be seen.

Legolas and I had agreed to seek some amount of rest over the night, once the warrior halls had quieted and he had seen the King. The day had been arduous, and I feared the days to come would be worse. Night came early, and dawn late, and darker things crept under the cover of the night. The shadows were growing bolder with every dimming star.

Somehow, I had been unable to bring myself to leave Legolas's quarters for the full extent of night. Unease had built with my every step away, and the closing of my quarter's door had created a barrier I did not wish to have. The paths of dreams held no comfort nor respite, and mere hours after I left Legolas, I returned. The guards outside his door had posed no argument, and so I had silently slipped inside, finding Legolas under the bare cover of dreams. Not bothering to wake him--and frankly unwilling to--I had sat on the floor at his bed's end, keeping a half aware vigil over the night.

Naught had occurred, but I had been content in my stead.

Now, in the barely lit morning, I sighed, stepping away from the window and turning to Legolas. Even as I did so, he finished clasping his cloak and faced me. "Good enough?" he said.

I laughed softly, stepping forward and grasping his collar. A sharp tug straightened it and I stepped away.

"You will pass for your father's son, perhaps. Be careful, though. They say the councilors are on the prowl this day."

Legolas shook his head with a passing smile, adjusting his collar again himself.

"Gwador, you practically grew up inside these walls. You might have learned how to evade those councilors in that time." The spark that lit in his eye belayed any consternation that might have resided in his voice. As he spoke, he moved towards the door, myself at his heels. Just as the door opened, wind whispering at its hinges, a murmured argument crept down the corridor. The words were muffled and quick, but phrases could be caught.

"—saes, sirs, I must speak with the Prince—"

"—lady, we cannot permit you to—"

"--truly, I mean no harm, there may be trouble—"

At that, my eyes narrowed and Legolas and I both stepped outside his quarters and into the hall. The voice I knew; the qualm it spoke of remained ambiguous. The voices fell silent at Legolas's appearance, but only for a moment.

"Prince Legolas!" Iaewneth called, kept from coming nearer by the strict defense of the guards. The fiery indignation that burnt in her eyes might have been amusing if not for how very fiercely it shone.

"Lady Iaewneth," Legolas said as we came nearer. "Has something gone amiss?"

Iaewneth seemed to abruptly become aware of her position, or perhaps disposition, and her stoic stance turned to meekness. "Nay, caun-nin. But if it is to your pleasing, I would seek an audience with you this day."