Wanderlust (Legolas LOTR)

Road to the Withered Heath

Legolas awoke to the gentle sway of the tree branch...except when his eyes finally focused, he realized with a start that he was no longer in the tree but stretched out inside a wagon. He moved uncomfortably to sit up and noticed his hands were bound and his feet as well!

He strained against his bonds and then noticed that Thaliniel was sitting across from him, gently laughing at his predicament.

He stared at her for a second, noticing that she was not tied up. "Do not say it," he said and then tugged at the rope around his hands.

"Say what? I told you so?" Thaliniel guessed. "No, I would never say that!" She studied him briefly, now that he was awake, and she could not help but grin a little. "We are on our way to the Grey Mountains, by the way," she informed him.

"How come you are not tied up?" he accused her, eyes narrowing.

"I guess they did not see me as a threat," Thaliniel surmised. "You, on the other hand..."

Legolas actually perked up at this. "Kind of flattering," he supposed outloud. "I guess they thought this," and he gestured toward himself, "was more than they could handle."

"Flattering?" repeated Thaliniel. "I do not want you to be flattered, Legolas. They drugged you! And made you a prisoner!" Thaliniel's eyes flashed, remembering how angry she had been with Elladan the night before, even with the seriousness of all his explanations. "I want you to punch them. I almost punched them myself!"

"Well, when you put it that way," he said. "What are they planning to do anyway?"

Thaliniel sorted through her bag as she told him briefly of her much longer talk with the twins. "It seems as though the Great Worms of the East have returned to their nests in the Withered Heath-the pass and mountain caves lying between the Grey Mountains. According to their father's research, the twins believe that there is a nesting period, a sort of incubation time when the dragons lay their eggs and then leave the nests. Elladan and Elrohir want to strike during this time, in the summer months, when the eggs and nests will be unguarded and destroy them all." She finished her explanation when she pulled out a knife so small that it looked more like a fingernail file, and taking it she leaned over Legolas' lap and cut his bonds from his hands and then his feet.

"They were right," Legolas said slowly. "My father would have tried to stop them." He locked eyes with Thaliniel. "If they get caught by any of the dragons, if they are seen--all the worms will pay attention to is that elves have destroyed their nests, and where is the closest elvish kingdom for retribution?"

"Mirkwood..." she realized.

"You were right, Thaliniel," Legolas agreed, his voice dropping to a low growl. "I do feel like punching somebody." The twins were risking his entire kingdom on this mission-and had not even had the courtesy to inform anyone that they might imminently be on the receiving end of an attack by dragons if their mission failed? His entire body tensed, and a feral sort of light gleamed in his eyes.

He really looked like he might kill someone. Perhaps she was too hasty with her comment about punching someone. She grabbed his arm before he could launch himself from the covered wagon. "Legolas, wait!" she exclaimed and pushed him back down, just as the wagon's wheels must have struck a hard bump in the road, for both elves were flung backward. Thaliniel landed against Legolas, her hands and arms against his chest, her body sprawled across his lap.

Her lips parted as she met his eyes, and without even meaning to, his hand reached out and gently pushed her hair away from her face.

Then Thaliniel neatly moved herself over to the side, but could not stop her cheeks from burning, a fact which Legolas delighted in, despite his aggrieved state.