Title: Stay With Me
Summary: Why did Legolas stay in Middle Earth until Aragorn's death? This is my theory.
Rating: G
Disclaimer: All characters, settings and anything else featured in the story belong to Tolkien or his estate. I am not making any money from this (unfortunately!). The only thing remotely mine is the plot.
Stay With Me
You stand transfixed. Before you the boundless expanse of the sea stretches, grey under the moody sky and flecked with dancing white foam like the wind-tossed seagulls that wheel against the heavy clouds.
Beware of the sea! The prophetic words of the Lady echo in your mind. Often you have pondered them, and now at last you understand. The shrill cries of seabirds fill your ears, mingling with the endless heartbeat pulse of the tide. You feel the impact of every wave on the shore and feel the pull as they are drawn inexorably back into the depths. Within you grows a longing to give yourself to that vital rhythm, to ebb away with the tide.
A hand grips your shoulder, strong and steady as an anchor tethering you to land and life. The touch startles you; caught up in the song of the sea you had forgotten everything but the cries of the gulls and the beat of the waves. Turning slightly, you acknowledge the man who stands next to you. The warmth of his touch flows through the thin material of your tunic and into your shoulder.
He smiles at you, understanding, and you turn back to the sea. His hand remains on your shoulder.
"Promise me something." The voice is low and private, for your ears alone, and though little more than a whisper it is not lost among the screaming of the gulls. Puzzled, you turn to him, searching the familiar face for answers. He gives you none, his sea-grey eyes are gazing far away, West and beyond.
"Anything I can." You answer.
His reply is even softer, nothing more than a puff of breath from barely moving lips, and yet you hear the words clearly and feel them as if they are graven on your soul: "Stay with me."
He turns to look at you now, grey eyes the very image of the sea under a stormy sky. Strength is in them, a strength that infuses you, pulls you in. In those eyes, and in that face, and in the firm, warm press of the hand on your shoulder you feel a sensation that you have no skill of words to describe, you only know that it draws you in more surely than the tide.
Stay with me. There is a meaning behind those words that glitters more beautiful to you than the white shores of Valinor. The sea-longing that possessed you is subdued, conquered by the profundity of feeling inspired in you by those simple words that were both entreaty and declaration.
You know your answer. In your heart, you realise that you knew it before it was asked of you.
"Until the end." You tell him, hoping that your voice conveys some of the tumult of emotion in your heart.
The man smiles faintly, nods as if he understands, and turns again to gaze out over the vastness of the ocean. Your own sight lingers on him, tracing the rough contours and weathered lines of his face, seeing the beauty in them. You reach out your hand and grip his shoulder, his body warm under your touch. Then you follow his gaze out to the sea and there you stand, comrades-in-arms linked by more than that, linked by the heart- deep, life-long promise you made. There you stand, two figures against the backdrop of infinity.
Later, when you finally part and the warmth of his body is gone from your touch, you carry within you the warmth of his words.
A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are very welcome. Constructive criticism is doubly welcome.
Summary: Why did Legolas stay in Middle Earth until Aragorn's death? This is my theory.
Rating: G
Disclaimer: All characters, settings and anything else featured in the story belong to Tolkien or his estate. I am not making any money from this (unfortunately!). The only thing remotely mine is the plot.
Stay With Me
You stand transfixed. Before you the boundless expanse of the sea stretches, grey under the moody sky and flecked with dancing white foam like the wind-tossed seagulls that wheel against the heavy clouds.
Beware of the sea! The prophetic words of the Lady echo in your mind. Often you have pondered them, and now at last you understand. The shrill cries of seabirds fill your ears, mingling with the endless heartbeat pulse of the tide. You feel the impact of every wave on the shore and feel the pull as they are drawn inexorably back into the depths. Within you grows a longing to give yourself to that vital rhythm, to ebb away with the tide.
A hand grips your shoulder, strong and steady as an anchor tethering you to land and life. The touch startles you; caught up in the song of the sea you had forgotten everything but the cries of the gulls and the beat of the waves. Turning slightly, you acknowledge the man who stands next to you. The warmth of his touch flows through the thin material of your tunic and into your shoulder.
He smiles at you, understanding, and you turn back to the sea. His hand remains on your shoulder.
"Promise me something." The voice is low and private, for your ears alone, and though little more than a whisper it is not lost among the screaming of the gulls. Puzzled, you turn to him, searching the familiar face for answers. He gives you none, his sea-grey eyes are gazing far away, West and beyond.
"Anything I can." You answer.
His reply is even softer, nothing more than a puff of breath from barely moving lips, and yet you hear the words clearly and feel them as if they are graven on your soul: "Stay with me."
He turns to look at you now, grey eyes the very image of the sea under a stormy sky. Strength is in them, a strength that infuses you, pulls you in. In those eyes, and in that face, and in the firm, warm press of the hand on your shoulder you feel a sensation that you have no skill of words to describe, you only know that it draws you in more surely than the tide.
Stay with me. There is a meaning behind those words that glitters more beautiful to you than the white shores of Valinor. The sea-longing that possessed you is subdued, conquered by the profundity of feeling inspired in you by those simple words that were both entreaty and declaration.
You know your answer. In your heart, you realise that you knew it before it was asked of you.
"Until the end." You tell him, hoping that your voice conveys some of the tumult of emotion in your heart.
The man smiles faintly, nods as if he understands, and turns again to gaze out over the vastness of the ocean. Your own sight lingers on him, tracing the rough contours and weathered lines of his face, seeing the beauty in them. You reach out your hand and grip his shoulder, his body warm under your touch. Then you follow his gaze out to the sea and there you stand, comrades-in-arms linked by more than that, linked by the heart- deep, life-long promise you made. There you stand, two figures against the backdrop of infinity.
Later, when you finally part and the warmth of his body is gone from your touch, you carry within you the warmth of his words.
A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are very welcome. Constructive criticism is doubly welcome.