THE RED RIDER ; lord of the rings {legolas} ✔

Chapter XXIII

Chapter XXIII

I heard the army returning before I saw any of them; the low marching in the streets, slowly quieting as they made their way higher up the city, the cheers and shouts of victory and relief from loved ones' reunions, and the few mournful cries of those who had lost them.

Eventually, they began to get close enough that Eowyn and Faramir were also looking around, and then as we heard them come up the stairs we all stood simultaneously and rushed towards the door.

Faramir reached the handle first and pushed it open just as our company returned.

There was a great deal of shouting and embracing, there were no words, just exclamations of joy and relief, that we were all alright, that the Ring was destroyed, and that Sauron was gone at last, his few traces of evil left in the world now a minority.

Eventually, when I became aware of actual words again, Mireclya reached me first and slapped me - not hard, but right across the face.

"Mira!" I yelped.

"Do not do that kind of thing ever again!" She scolded firmly. "That magic, that was an absolute ridiculous thing to do, and in your condition, honestly - "

"It's good to see you, too," I responded with a smile, and she stopped talking and just sighed in relief.

"I'm glad you're okay, at any rate," she said.

And then Aragorn was there, limping slightly but with a big grin on his face. "Thank you," he said quietly in my ear as he hugged me.

"Returning the favor, for wrapping my arm, and taking the Palantír from me," I suggested lightly, returning the embrace with my left arm.

He smiled back and walked off with Mireclya, and then Merry and Pippin replaced them, leaping at me and shouting. "Elena!"

I laughed at the sight of them. "You two must've fought well," I said with a smile.

"We did!" Pippin exclaimed. "And Merry fought two at once and won!" After a pause, he then added, "I helped."

I chuckled, but Merry nodded very seriously and said, "He did."

I put my hands on their heads. "Alright, you two, go get cleaned up. I expect you're exhausted." They both grinned and shook their heads, but walked off anyways, talking excitedly.

Gimli took their place and chuckled. "Quite a gamble you took there, lass."

I smiled. "I'm alright, Gimli."

"Your bloody arm is broken!" He protested.

"That's irrelevant," I laughed. "I'm fine."

He harrumphed. "Good." He patted my left arm, unable to reach my shoulder, and walked down the hall towards the same room the rest of the Fellowship had gone into.

Eomer smiled as he passed me, and clapped my shoulder. "You and your magic."

"You're welcome," I teased, following him with my eyes. He waved a careless hand behind him as he walked to show he'd heard and that he understood that I was teasing.

I turned back around; Eowyn and Faramir appeared to have gone back into the room, and there was only one other in the hall.

"Legolas," I breathed.

He walked towards me with a smile until we were face to face. "You look worried."

"I didn't see you for a while... not since that night... and then the Palantír... and you were already gone."