Just a Simple Mistake by Sivan Shemesh (fiction books to read .TXT) 📕

Beta: Ravenswing & Aranel

Disclaimer: Not mine. Belong to Tolkien, I'm only making the plot.

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Chapter 1: Guilty

Looking at the still form of his friend lying on the snow, the elf felt his knees hit the hard cold ground as he collapsed at his friend’s side, mumbling for his forgiveness.

"I am sorry…I did not mean to…" Legolas muttered, his eyes still locked on his friend.

Panic was driving the elf as he saw the crimson stain spreading over his friend’s clothes. He did not know what to do even as the guilt consumed his mind.

It was so fast – Legolas tried to recall what had happened – he never felt the presence that moving behind him, until those hands touched him.

Elladan and Elrohir were still staring at the bloodied sword that lay next to Legolas’ feet. They also saw the motionless form of their foster brother. And the blood that dripped from his body.

Elrohir stood in shock, not knowing what to do or how to act, but an enraged Elladan stormed towards the prince. He shook him, ranting accusingly, “What were you thinking!"

Without waiting for an answer the distraught elf pushed Legolas aside, and with the help of his twin, carefully carried his wounded brother to their horses.

Elladan mounted his stallion, waiting for his brother to secure the man before they rode towards Imladris. Elladan gave one last brief glance at Legolas who seemed lost in a trance, still in the same position where they found him.

Elladan momentarily hesitated; part of him knew he had to ride with his brothers – his father’s care was now crucial to Aragorn’s survival – but part of him wished to stay, to speak with and console his long-time friend. The decision was made when, after what seemed like an eternity, he heard his twin’s voice.

"Elladan!" Elrohir called, his voice arresting his brother's mind. "Elladan, we must go, he is growing far weaker."

With that, Elladan turned Amur towards his brother and they reined their horses towards Imladris' border, leaving Mirkwood's prince alone in the cold.

Legolas could only stare at his blood-drenched sword, unable to do anything as the guilt riddled through his mind, blinding him to everything around him, making him unable to ascertain where he should go, or what he should do.

Finally, he swallowed the lump in his throat. His fingers reached for the sword, grasping it as though it was never his. He returned the blade to its place. It simply did not seem right to clean it.

Walking, shoulders slumped, towards his horse, he mounted and headed toward Imladris, silently, earnestly praying that Aragorn was still alive.

Chapter 2: Blame

The riding went slowly. He feared that he might have killed his friend, and by the reaction that he got from Elladan, his heart ached and filled with worry as he thought on how Lord Elrond might respond.

As he finally arrived at Imladris' border he could feel the anger radiating from every elf he passed, eating at him deeply inside.

"Prince Greenleaf, how do you fare?" Glorfindel asked him with grace, noting that Legolas was surprised by his concern.

'Was Legolas truly expecting to see me angry at him?' Glorfindel asked himself, still staring at Legolas.

"Is there any news about Aragorn?" Legolas asked, not paying much attention to the Balrog Slayer's question, fully aware that his welfare was not at stake as Aragorn’s was.

"Not that I know," Glorfindel observed the prince, and, noticing the slumped shoulders and stormy yet dulled blue eyes, he added, "I did not see Elrond leave the house of healing; he is still inside."

"Hannon-le." Legolas thanked him, and headed toward the house of healing, wanting to know the consequences of his heinous act, wanting so much to know that his friend, at least, was still alive.

Glorfindel watched him as he left, still worried for the prince, and he hesitated, wondering if he should follow him into the house. Finally, he simply watched on as he attended to Legolas’ horse.

As Legolas entered the house, the twins blocked his path and any sight of his friend.

"Legolas, what are you doing in here?" Elladan questioned him, glaring at his friend, though he seemed weaker each time they met.

"I… I wanted to see how Aragorn fares…" Legolas answered quietly, his eyes staring ahead, hoping to have the reassurance that his friend did not die by his hand.

Elrohir was about to say something but at that moment his Adar came in. It was then that Elrohir finally felt pity for Mirkwood's prince.

"What were you thinking?” Elrond burst out as he faced Legolas. He pushed him roughly into the room where Aragorn lay still on the clean white sheets.

"Look at him!" Elrond snapped at Legolas, noticing the frown on the prince. Legolas chose to stare at him instead of facing the result of his actions.

"LOOK AT HIM!" Elrond sneered, and Legolas finally did as he was told, his face marked with shame as guilt flooded his heart.

Legolas could see the bandages that were tied tightly around Aragorn's waist. It was his fault and he knew it.

"Look at what you have done; what friend do you call yourself? How could you be so careless! I won’t be surprised if your Adar wouldn’t care to look at you as from this moment, I cannot see you as anything but an enemy. You are herewith banned from Imladris, and if you should step foot here…" Elrond started to threaten him but was interrupted.

"Adar, stop before it goes too far." Elrohir cut in, and then he spared a look at his friend's face, noticed the dull blue eyes, and walked toward Legolas, who had edged closer to the door as though about to run away.

Elrohir instead turned to his Adar and spoke softly, "Ada, you need to calm down, we do not know his side of the story."

"What difference will it make, Elrohir?" Elrond asked his son.

Elrohir kept quiet, finding that question hard to answer. He turned and did not see Legolas in the room. He now feared for his friend as much as he feared for his foster brother.

As soon as Elrond closed the door, Elrohir faced his twin, "What should we do if Aragorn dies?"

"I do not know, but I fear for our long-time friend." Elladan replied, as he headed out of the house.

He almost bumped into Glorfindel.

"Is everything all right?" Glorfindel asked with heavy concern, as he was aware of the prince riding hard from the house. Legolas had mounted upon his horse in no time and fled from Imladris. Glorfindel could sense the fear within the prince, and he feared that Legolas would do something they would all regret.

"Not at the moment,” Elladan replied. “Aragorn seems to grow weaker even with Adar's herbs, and you know Adar, when he is angry, he would blame the one who caused it, and right now the blame lies upon Legolas' shoulders.” Elladan sighed. “If I could turn back time I would have helped Legolas instead of getting angry at him, as I did when we found them."

Elladan tried to soothe his mind as he stared at the darkened, blue sky, wondering about Legolas, who was wandering alone in the dark – alone, away from their friendship – he thought that what Legolas might need was a friend to listen to him.

"Look, Elladan, I am certain that when your Adar overcomes his anger he would know how to cure Aragorn or find what prevents him from healing your brother. It might have been an infection; your Adar encounters it a lot," Glorfindel tried to comfort the young twin, and added, "It is not like Legolas to deliberately hurt Aragorn, as you know their friendship remains deep. I believe that something has happened, and the prince is taking all the blame upon himself. And none of us seem to help him."

Chapter 3: Fear

Legolas wandered through the wilderness in shame of what he had done – the shame as the words of Lord Elrond and even his friends ate at him from within.

He felt so alone, so cold from those words the very people he called his friends threw callously at him.

The anger ruling his soul was raging stronger and he tried to find ways to busy himself. He tried to push away the guilty need to kill some orcs in exchange for some measure of relief, and perhaps some peace so he could ride back toward his homeland.

As he went through the shadowed woods, orcs began to appear, and Legolas mindlessly hacked at them, slaughtering more and more orcs, not noticing as day became night and night returned to day. And in this manner, a week or two flew by.

Legolas was growing tired, his clothes were soaked in dirt and the orcs' filthy blood, and yet he only felt wearier as the guilt still engulfed him and gripped him deeper and deeper in its merciless grasp. He stared at his crimson sword as the scene of what happened on that day started to haunt him once again.

He rode into the night, toward the borders of his homeland, not knowing what he should be expect anymore; the reminder of what Elrond said about how ashamed his Adar must feel – that only sent shivers down his spine.

The guards soon hurried over to the palace and came to him in fear that he was hurt. He could not blame them – he was definitely not in a flattering condition.

He stopped his horse once he noticed another elf talking with his Adar. When he saw the attire upon the unfamiliar elf, his heart started beating harder and faster.

'Has Elrond decided to take it this far?' Legolas thought, his eyes locked on the scene before him.

"Ion-nin," Thranduil called distractedly, missing the hints of the hidden pain as he felt his son come, "Come over here, I wish you to meet someone."

Legolas walked his stallion at a slow pace, not daring to ride any faster toward his Adar and the uncertainty of what he would do.

When he finally dismounted from his horse and walked toward the elves, he could not find the courage to look up and meet their gaze.

"This is Estrus; he is a messenger from Imladris…" Thranduil started to say, only to notice that the color instantly drained from his son’s face.

The king immediately feared for his son. He hoped that his son was feeling alright, though, looking at the crimson on the prince' clothes, he feared that his Greenleaf was hurt as well, but was keeping it all hidden.

"Are you all right, ion?" Thranduil asked with concerned.

Legolas ignored his father's question as his eyes remained locked on the messenger. Why was he here?

"What message have you brought from Imladris?" Legolas asked.

The elf stared at the prince, and found it hard to break eye contact with him. He finally replied, "The message must be given to the king alone."

At that, Legolas walked off, straight to the palace, not exchanging any words with his father or the other elves.

Thranduil wondered about his son’s