|
As
Time Ends
by Marina
Category: Interspecies, Point of View, Angst
Characters: Aragorn Arwen Legolas
Warnings: No Happy Ending
Rating: PG
Summary: After the end of the trilogy, Legolas thinks about time.
Disclaimer: JRRT is the creator, Middle-earth belongs to him;
I'm only a humble follower.
Feedback: Yes, please.
Story Notes: Companion story to "In My Time" by Amy
Fortuna
He's dying. Even Numenorian blood can't last forever. He
looks older. Colder. Sometimes I think the stones of his
fortress are taking him away. Who am I to know where they go
when they're dying?
Cold and hard like towers and fortresses. Sometimes I think
Gimli would like it better here than I do. But dear friend Gimli
doesn't come so often anymore.
Do I even know him, the king that is dying slowly in his
splendid cold capital? Sometimes I think my Strider is already
dead, the Man who walked long roads with me, who fought glorious
battles with me. I dreamt about Strider last night. He laid next
to me, unmoving in his sleep, cold under heavy covers, and
nothing I did could warm him up. The cold stones were talking
him away from me.
He says it is time. Is Men's time made from stone? If his
time is building up as a grey stone wall and mine, flowing past
like the river it always was, the end will come soon. The end of
our time. How can time end? He knows, I see it in his eyes --
but even if I asked, would he be able to answer?
Gimli used to talk about the beauty of his stone caves, but
he stopped some time ago. My friend sees much more than we
expect the dwarves to see. He probably knew that I wouldn't want
to listen.
The city around me is like a stone trap. I went riding with
Prince Eldarion yesterday. He smiles almost like Strider, and I
start breathing easier when I look at him. But then stones close
around me and I wonder what I'm doing here. Am I in a dream? My
life flowed between the forest and the sea, and how did it turn
to this stone cave? This Man, like a stone bridge, tied it all
together. But now the bridge is falling down, and the stones
almost stopped the flow.
What happens when he is gone? I thought I chose my way years
ago when I came to stay. I look up, and Arwen smiles at me, not
a shade in her eyes. Her choice is final, mine... was it a
choice? The river cannot stop its flow, no matter what happens
to the bridge. The river goes to the sea.
|
