Chapter Forty Six

The rest of that day and the next was a happy one for the close-knit elves and one human in Elrond’s household. Aragorn had had his talk with Legolas the day before, when he had brought the elf his mid-day meal. It had taken some doing, but the prince had convinced the man that he wasn’t hiding anything or being prideful. All was well with him---for real. He was cheerful and eager to use his crutches, being very careful to keep from hurting himself further.

Aragorn had not known about Mordraug taking up residence in Legolas‘s mind, of course, so he did not know it was the dark elf’s perceived absence that had buoyed his friend’s spirits. He only knew that the elf was not faking his joy, and that in itself brought joy to the ranger’s heart. They had laughed together the way they had done before Mordraug had come into their lives in the valley forest. It felt so good for them, as well as the twins, to recapture the lighter side of their personalities. There was no reason for any of them to think things weren’t going to continue that way.

Elrond became convinced, as well, that the young wood elf was not trying to fool him. His disposition was too sunny, and his laughter too musical to be an act. Legolas was good at hiding his true feelings, but Elrond was even better at detecting such subterfuge. He felt no deception on the prince’s part, and it warmed his heart.

So it was that everyone had come to the happy conclusion that whatever had been troubling the young elf was now in the past.

Legolas became adept at using the crutches, but even so Elrond would not let him leave the hourse. Legolas was anxious to go to the stable and see Elenblaith. He knew from previous experiences of separation that the horse would be anxious to see him, as well.

Legolas also wanted to go into the garden, but Elrond elicited another promise that he would wait until the splint came off of his foot before going to either place, mainly because there had been more rain, causing the stone paths to be slippery and the few dirt ones to be muddy. The promise had been given reluctantly, but it had been given nonetheless, and that eased Elrond’s mind. It did the opposite for Legolas, since he knew he would not break the promise he had given and thus would have to wait before going outside.

On this the third day, right after mid-day meal, Elrond had pulled Legolas aside and told him that there was a good possibility the splint could be taken off of his foot. He stressed the word possibility, but Legolas was so excited that Elrond prayed the prince’s ankle bone had completely healed. It certainly should have, since the wood elf’s healing ability had been restored after the banishment of the venom by the antidote.

Elrond sent Legolas to his room to wait while the elf lord attended to an errand. He would meet the young elf there in an hour. Aragorn and the twins had errands of their own to attend to and would not be present, so Legolas asked that Elrond not tell them or Glorfindel about the splint possibly coming off. If it did, he wanted it to be a surprise to his friends. The elf lord readily agreed.

Legolas waited impatiently in his room, trying to occupy his time until Elrond showed up. He found himself looking at the splinted extremity. He himself was sure that it was mended, however, he had learned his lesson about waiting for Elrond to make that pronouncement.

He was unable to contain his eagerness to put the crutches away, despite the fact the twins had made them especially for him. He knew they were as anxious as he was for him to be rid of them. With that in mind, and more than a touch of guilt, he had tested his ankle in his room late last night by standing up without the crutches and then tentatively putting weight on his foot. He had started to take a few steps but held himself in check. *I will not ruin my chance to be free of the crutches by being too hasty in wanting to walk.*

He had felt like a misbehaving elfling, but that hadn’t stopped him. There had been the momentary discomfort in his whole leg after long disuse, but it soon passed, and his foot held his weight with no trouble. He was sure Elrond would pronounce his ankle healed, and he would be able to walk on both feet to the stable and the garden. Happy just knowing that his ankle appeared to be fine, he did not dare even touch the splint.

Legolas was sitting on his bed, when he decided to give the foot one last check. He didn’t want to go into Elrond’s exam cold and have a cramp cause him to wince, or even worse, have his leg give out on him. No amount of arguing or declaration of well-being after that would have made Elrond remove the splint, this day at least, and more likely for several more. As expected, though, there was no pain, and no real weakness, just a bit of stiffness, which Elrond certainly would be expecting anyway.

The blond elf had just sat back down on the side of his bed, when there was a knock at the door. His heart leapt, sure that Elrond was going to come in, examine his ankle and then set him free. He was also extremely happy he was sitting down. Any delay in answering the door might have alerted Elrond to what he was doing.

“Come in,” Legolas called, toning down the excitement that he felt from coming through in his voice.

Elrond entered with a smile on his face. He walked over to the younger elf and sat down in one of the chairs, pulling it up to within a couple of feet of the bed. He reached down and carefully lifted Legolas’s left leg up and set the prince’s foot in his lap. “Well now, let us see what there is to see.”

The elf lord carefully cut the cloth strips with a tiny knife that looked as if it was made for just that purpose. Pulling the material away, he removed the wooden pieces and then unwrapped the last piece of cloth. Each of these he had handed to Legolas, who set them down beside him on the bed. Gently Elrond ran the sensitive fingers of both hands over Legolas’s ankle. His eyes were closed, as he concentrated on the feel of the bone under the young elf’s skin.

Legolas watched the elf lord’s face intently, looking for the slightest hint of either a smile or a frown. He wasn’t surprised to see that the elder elf’s face was totally unreadable. The neutral look was one he had seen many times.

Legolas’s heart sank, when Elrond asked, “When did you test your foot?”

Elrond knew, and there was no point in even trying to deny it. With a sigh, Legolas said, “Last night.” Trying to defend himself as best he could, he hastened to add, “But, I did not walk on it. I only put my weight down on it---carefully. There was no pain at all, but still I did not touch the splint.”

“And, you stood on it again just before I came in. Correct?“

Legolas nodded sheepishly. “Yes. But, I did not walk on it.” He wasn’t sure if that would make any difference to Elrond, but he hoped.

The dark-haired elf lord suppressed a smile at Legolas’s attempt to wiggle out of being scolded. Elrond then gave a sigh of his own. “You are too headstrong for your own good, Legolas.”

The wood elf then lowered his head. It was far from the first time that had been said to him. He usually heard it from his father and Estel.

Returning to the previous subject, the archer asked somewhat mournfully, “Did I do damage to it?” He felt, right then, that disappointing Elrond would hurt him more than being told he had to have the splint put back on for several more days. “I am sorry.”

Elrond shook his head. Legolas was simply anxious to be back on his own two feet. Elrond understood completely. “One night would not make that much difference. However...” He let the word hang in the air for several moments, sure that it would make as much of an impression as scolding would have. Then, he said again, “Much too headstrong. You are truly your father’s son. Yet, I know it is that exact trait has brought you back from the brink of death more than once.”

Becoming anxious again, Legolas asked, “Do you believe my ankle is healed?”

With a laugh, Elrond nodded. “Yes, young prince, your ankle is headed. It must now be tested properly.” He stood up and moved the chair back a few feet. “Walk to the door and back. Do not think about it. Just walk naturally, as if your mind was on something else.”

Legolas did so, purposely keeping his thoughts away from his foot. He arrived back in front of Elrond with a big grin on his face. He wisely did not say, “I knew it was healed.” It would have sounded as if he was trying to reinforce the wisdom of his diagnosis before the foot was ever even examined by the experienced healer. Legolas had too much respect for the elf lord to do that.

“Your walk is normal, Legolas. I am very glad for that.” But, before Legolas could say a word, Elrond held his finger up. “You must make me another promise.”

Legolas was pretty sure he knew what Elrond would ask of him, but he waited silently for the elf lord to voice his request.

“No climbing trees for a couple of days.”

Legolas frowned. “Why not, if my ankle is healed? I have been wanting to go up into the trees for so long.” The blond elf was obviously confused.

“The bone is mended, but the ankle is still a little weak. You must only walk for a while to strengthen the muscles that support the bone. Putting more weight on your foot than just that of your body right now would not harm the bone, but it may cause a muscle strain, and you would end up right back on your crutches.”

It was that last statement that struck home to the woodland warrior.

“You may commune with the trees in the garden all you wish, you just should not climb them. And, I would prefer you not ride for a few days, at least. I know you do not use stirrups. You would need them to support your leg until it strengthens. At the same time, though, using stirrups would put too much pressure on the muscles in your foot. Either way could prove detrimental to your complete recovery just now. Do we agree?”

Legolas’s was disappointed, but the young elf’s expression quickly changed, and Elrond knew a promise was forthcoming. “I promise I will not climb any trees or go riding until you tell me I may.”

A broad smile crossed Elrond’s face. “Then, there is no reason you cannot go to see your horse and your trees. It is a lovely day.”

Legolas grinned. “Will you tell Estel and the twins to join me in the garden, when they finish whatever it is they are doing?”

“Estel should be free in an hour or so, and I know I could not hold him back from going to meet you, even if I tried. However, Elladan and Elrohir will be gone until evening meal. They will all be happy to see that you can walk on your own.” As one last warning, Elrond said, “Of course, you realize you must not do any running, either.”

Legolas nodded his understanding that running, riding, and climbing trees were equally forbidden. As disappointed as he was, he still knew that Elrond was trying to protect him. The effort was appreciated.

Elrond knew that he was being a little over-cautious on the activities that Legolas was anxious to engage in. His thinking, of course, was that, considering all that the young elf had been through lately, it could only be a benefit for him to take it easy at first, building up to the complete freedom to do whatever he wished to do.

Elrond stood, picking up the discarded cloth and the pieces of wood that had stabilized Legolas’s foot until the bone had reached its current condition. He smiled at Legolas as the younger elf stood up.

“Thank you, Elrond, for all you have done for me.” There was so much strong emotion in his voice, he didn‘t dare try to say more. Instead, he wrapped his arms around the elder elf in a tight hug.

With his hands full, Elrond was only able to return the hug with one arm, which he used to encircle Legolas‘s shoulders. When they parted, he nodded and smiled. “It has been my pleasure to help you, Legolas. I thank the Valar that I was able to.” He then turned and left the room.

Legolas was grinning, as he walked out onto the balcony. He was a little surprised that he found himself heading in that direction, since he had planned on going straight to the stable. He placed his hands on the balcony railing and looked out over the garden, breathing in the fresh air deeply. “I will be there shortly, my friends,” he whispered to the trees. He never was sure if the gentle wave of the branches was in response to his words or merely a reaction to the light breeze that was blowing across the garden. He chose to believe the former.

The elf then turned to the flower box on his left. He was dismayed to see that his beloved blue flowers were bent over, the petals resting against the damp dirt that filled the box. The storm had beaten them down, and so far, they had not lifted their heads to the sun that shone down on them.

Legolas walked over to them and bent down. He touched each one in turn and spoke softly to it. Releasing the last one, he said, “You will all be mended just as I have been.” The word mended was not completely accurate in this case, since they were not broken, but to Legolas, if they were not standing tall and straight and seeking the golden rays of the sun, then they were in need of help. He looked up at the brilliant orb hanging in the clear blue sky. He knew that all they needed was the sunshine and more time spent in it.

Turning away from the flower box, he left his room and headed down to the stable. He felt a slight stiffness in his left leg, but was happy to note there was still no discomfort in his foot. If there was to be any, he felt sure it would have made itself known after coming down three flights of stairs to the ground floor.

As he walked along the pathway that led toward the stable, he smiled and hummed a tune. It struck him that feeling so good after so dark a time in his life, made this happy time all the sweeter. He believed he was mended---body, mind and spirit. He had survived not only the snake’s venom but Mordraug’s appearance in his head. He now felt as sunny as the day.

When Legolas arrived in the stable building, he whistled and was rewarded with the anxious sound of a happy and impatient whinny. By the time that Legolas reached the stall that housed his gray stallion, Elenblaith, both horse and elf were excited to see each other.

Legolas opened the stall door and walked inside. He was immediately greeted by the soft nose of Elenblaith pushing against his chest. The elf reached up with his left hand and rubbed between the horses’ eyes and with his right he rubbed under Elenblaith’s jaw.

Before long Legolas was rubbing his hands over the stallion’s entire body. He knew that the elves that worked here took very good care of all the horses in their care, but he couldn’t help the need to check for himself. As he expected, Elenblaith was perfectly sound.

When Legolas returned to the horse’s head, Elenblaith began to nibble at the elf’s long hair. It was something he had been doing since he was a young colt tall enough to reach it. That was the one bad habit that Legolas had never been able to break the stallion from doing. The elf had finally interpreted the gesture to mean the animal wanted his elf to mount up, so they could go riding. Running through the forest of Mirkwood was something that brought joy to both of their hearts. Even on the occasions when they had been running for their lives, there had been undeniable exhilaration.

Legolas frowned. “I am sorry, my friend. I made a promise, and I cannot go riding with you this day.” He was sure Elenblaith understood the sad timbre of his master’s voice. “We will go soon. I promise.” Another promise made, and another promise that he intended to keep, though right now, his heart longed to do otherwise.

Elenblaith shook his head and snorted his displeasure at being put off. He grabbed another chink of Legolas’s hair and pulled a little harder on it.

“Ouch.” Legolas frowned. “You are as stubborn as everyone says I am.” The prince had to use both of his hands to pry his hair free of the stallion‘s teeth. “I will not break my promise to Elrond,” he declared firmly. Then, he brightened. “We can go walking together, though. Elrond wants me to strengthen my leg muscles.” With that, he turned and walked out of the stall. Elenblaith followed, nickering happily, when he realized that his elf was not gong to close the stall door and leave him behind.

For almost an hour, elf and horse walked the pathways on the outskirts of Rivendell. Eventually, Legolas led the horse back around to the stable. Upon seeing the building, Elenblaith again snorted his displeasure, this time over the end of the walk, but he dutifully followed Legolas inside.

The elf brushed the stallion, told him he would return the next day and then left the stable, heading for the garden.

As he walked, he purposely avoided thinking about the fact that both of his legs, especially the left one, was causing him more than a small twinge. He knew that was to be expected and since there was no real pain involved, he ignored it.

The elf smiled as he walked under the archway that led into the largest of the lush Rivendell gardens, the one his room overlooked. Legolas found his spirits lifting as high as they had been for a long time. He breathed in the fresh scents of plant, tree and flower. It was good to be alive.

He walked down the stone path and stopping at the very first tree he came to, He stood beneath the tree’s thick brances, eyes closed and smiling to himself. Just before he reached out to touch the rough bark, he heard a step behind him.

“Now, that‘s what I expect to see from a wood elf,” came a human voice.

Legolas turned his head to see Estel standing a few feet away. There was a big grin on the man’s face. The elf matched it with a big grin of his own.

TBC

Juas a quick note to tell everyone that I will be on vacation for a week, so this will be the last update until April 24.  I'll respond to reviews that weekend.  See you all then!