Endless Shadows

Chapter 26

"Dead? How can he be dead if he's standing right there?" I gesture towards Legolas with my hand, a slight smirk on my face. Faervel doesn't seem amused.
"Tell him Legolas," I say turning to the elf in question, "tell him that you're not dead so that we can move on."
Legolas stares at his hand, the one that he'd placed in the fire. He doesn't move. My smile fades as a knot of uneasiness forms in my stomach.
"Legolas?" He looks up and our eyes meet, I don't believe this.

He turns to Faervel who nods his head. I suspect that another long narrative is going to come from this so I return to my seat. Legolas and Faervel sit down as well. Legolas glances at him one more time.
"You may speak Legolas."
He takes a deep breath. "I never found peace after I sailed. I could not live knowing that I would remain separated from everyone that I loved. The grief was too much for me, in the end, I was allowed to release my spirit from my body. I joined my family in the Halls of Mandos."

"In other words," I drum my fingers rapidly on the table, "you died."
Legolas nods. "Yes, from what I heard they buried my body in Valinor. And, "he chuckles, "I have become known as 'The Grieving Elf' among those who remain."
I cease my drumming. I can't believe this. All this time I thought that Legolas was living out his days in peace, when all along he's been dead.

"But if you died," Darovel asks shifting in his seat, "how did you come back?"
The smile fades from Legolas' face. He lowers his head and stares at the amulet.
"I did not come back willingly." He raises his head, his eyes clouded with sorrow. "I was never meant to come back..."

/\\//\\/

"Legolas you must stop this!" His mother's words fell on dead ears. He remained rooted to his spot, ignorant of the damage he was causing.
"Legolas!" His father called his name to no avail. His parents could not reach him, he'd made sure of it. The once green forest was now a charred wasteland. The grass beneath his feet was charred and black. The branches of the trees were bare and twisted, like bony hands clawing at the dark sky.

Legolas stood in the midst of it all. Arms lax at his sides with his hair lashing out with the wind. Dark circles had formed around his now grey eyes, his skin becoming paler by the second. Thranduil exchanged a frightened look with his wife, neither knew what to do. Footsteps alerted the arrival of another elf, who was just as scared as his parents.

"What's happening to him?!" Thalion shouted over the screaming wind.
"His grief, it has not left him." His mother watched her youngest son helplessly. There was nothing she could do.
"I thought he was healed!" Thalion's own heart was breaking. He couldn't bear seeing his brother like this.
The ground shook under their feet. Legolas was destroying the forest. Thalion was about to run to his brother when a voice like thunder rolled across the sky, speaking in a tongue that the three elves did not know.

The wind died down and the earth stilled. The trees returned to their normal forms and the grass was healed. Legolas fell to his knees, trembling where he knelt. Thalion raced towards him only to be stopped by the voice.
"Do not go near him, lest you wish to become tainted."
Thalion stopped, confusion and fear coursing through him. Legolas remained on the grass, which was the only part of the ground that remained black. His skin was still pale and the dark circles hadn't left his eyes.

Two figures emerged from the trees, they towered over the elves and were too bright to be seen clearly. In each of their hands, they carried large spears. Thalion backed away as the approached Legolas, who refused to look up at them.
"He is to be brought before Mandos." They said in unison. "He must be judged."
Thalion turned towards his parents, their eyes reflected his own fear.