Unreturned

Chapter 1

Anodien clutched at her bleeding wound, crimson liquid dripping through her hands. Legolas ripped the dagger from the assassin's hand and grasped his cloak, whirling him around and throwing him off the clifftop. His furious glare softened when he returned to Anodien, releasing a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He propped his savior up in his arms, lips parted with horror.

"I'm sorry," the princess gasped, her eyes fluttering. Legolas leaned down, ripping off a strip of his tunic to cover the bloody wound.

"You have nothing to apologize for," he insisted, laying the cloth out the best he could. Anodien shook her head weakly.

"I... I hurt y-you," she wheezed. Legolas reached up to feel at his jaw. "I b-blamed you... for something... you c-couldn't control..." She moved his hand away from her belly with a trembling hand. A bloody smear was left on his skin. "I l..." Anodien shuddered, and she struggled to draw breath. "I love you t-too much to let you die..." Legolas stared at his friend's face, and there was no hint of a lie in her eyes.

"Anodien, please," he begged quietly, "let me try to save you."

"Leave it be," she whispered, a tiny pitiful cough shaking her. "This is all I could have hoped for..." Anodien leaned into his arm, a whine escaping her throat. "Legolas... c-can you tell M-Minaethiel I-I'm sorry?"

"You can tell her yourself, just hold on," the Ellon pleaded. "Anodien..." The princess looked up at him with hazy green eyes. She opened her mouth to reply, but only a pained gasp came out. She trembled, her bloody hand reaching up to touch his cheek before her body fell limp in his arms.

Legolas ran swiftly back to Ithiliond, carrying Anodien. The rain slowed as he reached the tree-filled town. Her blood covered his arms, and her wet skin was cold to the touch.

"Nanuet!" Legolas shouted, full of fear. His closest friend was close to death, and he didn't think he could lose her. His love for her was of an entirely different nature than romantic, but she was still immensely important  to him. "Nanuet!" Legolas howled, glancing down at the unconscious She-Elf in his arms. "Keep your shouting to a minimum," the Fae told the prince, rounding the corner. His silver eyes widened at the woman that Legolas carried. "What happened?!"

"She rescued me from an assassin," Legolas informed him hurriedly, placing her into Nanuet's waiting arms. The Fae wasted no time in hurrying her into Ithiliond's healing beds. A white light shone from his hands, setting Anodien's body aglow. Legolas tensed at the magic, still unused to it and its effects.

"This will preserve her for a while, until I can stitch her skin together." Nanuet looked up at the blonde Ellon. "She's lucky you were able to bring her back so soon. A few more minutes and she'd have been beyond our help." Legolas breathed a sigh of relief and slumped down into a chair. Nanuet eyed him with curiosity.

"What do you want?" Legolas growled. Nanuet hid a smile.

"You might want to clean up," the Fae remarked slyly, gesturing to him. Legolas looked down, seeing the blood that covered his clothes and skin. His own hair was matted with blood, and he bit his lip. He bid farewell to Nanuet before heading out to take a bath.

...

Legolas scrubbed at the blood that stained his chest, the bathwater turning crimson. His mind began to wander back to what had caused all of this. An assassin, headed for him. Then Anodien... She returned because she knew it was going to happen, and...

She returned because she loved me. He absently wiped at the dried blood stuck to his chin. She would have died for me. Guilt filled him as he recalled the pained happiness in her eyes when he tried to save her. A, nin... She is my dearest friend, to be sure. Though I cannot say that I return her affections... Legolas washed out the blood from underneath his nails. What am I to do?

She's rejected love since the moment we met. Any kind of companionship was foreign. Oh, how she must have wept when I told her of Tauriel. Realization struck him. Is that why she was so distant and cruel in the past few moons? The more he thought about it, the more the scenario seemed to fit. How could I have been so blind?

Legolas felt guilty for putting her through the same darkness he'd gone through. What can I do to remedy this? The answer came to him almost immediately, though he continued to search for an alternative. At last, he realized that there was no other option if he wanted to make his friend happy.

My own joy means nothing. All joy I could have felt from the warmth of a lover is gone, but that does not mean I must subject Anodien to the same fate. The Ellon shook himself out of his thoughts and climbed out of the red water, drying himself and getting dressed. "I'll do it," he whispered to himself. She will never feel unloved, for I will bring her happiness at the cost of my own.