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I barely finished my meal when I saw a familiar figure of Legolas looming in the corner as if he was waiting for me. The rest was already gone.
“Got bored of talking to your kin already? How so?” I asked, snorting. For the last few days the only thing he has been doing is talking to the other elves, leaving the rest of the Fellowship to their own company. It seemed like most didn’t mind it, me neither. Because what would an elven princeling want from us now that he is among his own kind?
“Bored? I wouldn’t say so. It’s just that I think I already covered all the topics I wanted to and seen every corner of this place that I wanted. But now I think you should see them too, Gimli, friend of the elves,” he said, smiling slightly.
I huffed, raising my eyebrows.
“And where does that sudden change come from?”
“It’s hard for me to tell. Maybe I’m just impressed that you, a dwarf that claimed to feel reluctance, to say it lightly, to all elves, shows such admiration for this place. It seems like I was wrong about you and I wanted to say sorry for that.”
“You’re sorry?” I asked, standing up from the table. “Well, apologies accepted, then.”
“You don’t sound sincere,” Legolas sighed, crossing his arms.
“Well, if I did something to gain your respect, then why won’t you do anything to gain mine?”
To my surprise, he laughed slightly.
“I think there’s not much I can do.”
“We’ll see. So do you want me to go with you?”
“Yes. I want to show you that there is so much more to appreciate here. I want you to at least try for you to see the beauty of this place as deeply as I do.”
I sighed and nodded.
“Very well. Then I’ll walk where you lead me, Legolas.”
So I followed him. Legolas was guiding us further from elven households, we were passing some of them from time to time, but neither of us paid much attention to them. Maybe once or twice I caught a surprised look from one of them, as they noticed us walking together.
But as we were walking in silence, I noticed that there was a slight difference between Legolas and the elves of Lothlorién. At times when he passed among the trees he was hardly visible, while the elves here were almost like walking pillars of light. It seemed like there was something to him that made him appear as if he was one with the woods but I couldn’t name what exactly this was. As far as I know, he’s of sylvan elves who live differently from others. How was he in Mirkwood? While most of the Fellowship talked of their homes (especially the hobbits), he hardly ever expressed his longing for his homeland. But now that he was walking here with me, I wondered how he spent his time in Mirkwood. My father told me about this place, but I knew that whatever I know from his tales is probably not the whole truth. Maybe it was possible that he met Legolas then… But well, he wasn’t there as a guest but as a prisoner… I didn’t want to think about it for now.
“You’re quiet,” he spoke suddenly. “I thought you don’t like silence.”
“Not really. But since you were not speaking either, I thought you didn't want me to talk. Maybe it's part of the process of me learning the beauty of this place!” I snorted.
“As far as I’ve noticed, you were looking more at me than looking around…” he said.
I couldn’t help but to feel my face heat up in embarrassment.
“I was trying to guess what’s on your mind. You’re a walking mystery!” I tried to save myself from such foolishness.
“Hm, I don’t think anyone, not even lady Galadriel could ever teach you the art of guessing one’s thoughts! And mystery? What could possibly be mysterious about me?”
“Generally. You elves are never very direct about anything. You don’t like talking much about yourself.”
“So you want me to say something about myself? Is it a dwarvish way of making friends?”
“Making friends?”
“Yes, then why do you think I took you with me on this walk?” he said, laughing lightly. “Is there a better way to show we want one’s friendship than to show them what’s moving our heart?”
“But what kind of a friend that you know nothing about? How can I know they will be a real companion, that I can have their trust?”
“Hm, I thought for your kind, giving one’s weapon in a fight is enough to establish a friendship,” he muttered.
“Well, that’s right, a faithful friend follows you in battle, but is that enough? I think some of the other dwarves might disagree with me, but I don’t like people who are too secretive. I like ones that say whatever is on their mind and don’t mind sharing something with me…”
“So that makes you different.”
“Do you think all the dwarves think the same and are the same?”
“And do you think that about the elves?”
“Well… As we entered Lothlorién, I noticed you are a little different from the local elves.”
“That’s right. We have some differences. And maybe that’s why I had to leave their company for a time being…”
I couldn’t help but laugh when I imagined Legolas arguing with one of the elves here. I would pay handsomely to see such a scene!
“What’s so funny?”
I didn’t answer.
We already left the area where we were staying and entered the deeper woods. We already left the elves behind us. Their soft voices murmuring there like wind faded already. Light was shining here differently and the trees looked more amazing and mysterious. I started noticing other plants too, especially the flowers.
“I must admit, those woods look rather beautiful,” I said, after a while of silence among us.
“Well, like I said before, I wasn’t expecting that you would see the beauty of this place and appreciate it,” Legolas said.
“Do you think we only appreciate what’s dark and deep in the ground?” I huffed. “No, just like all living creatures, we wouldn’t be living without light.”
To my surprise, he laughed faintly.
“You’re speaking in riddles!”
“No, not at all. And if you need simpler words, what I meant was that there is more to appreciate than stone, gems and precious metals for a dwarf… Well, maybe not all would agree with me, but I’ve always considered myself to be quite different from my kin if it comes to that.”
“Really?”
“Well, in my youth my father told me of his adventures and the story of the journey to reclaim Erebor. It was full of wonders I haven’t even heard before and as soon as I heard those stories I dreamt of a similar adventure. And of course, seeing all the wonders of the word, all the things that are beyond our beloved mountains, and now… It’s more than I could have ever dreamt of! And you? Haven’t you ever thought about leaving Mirkwood and seeing what’s beyond?”
He smiled, hearing a more cheerful tone in my voice.
“No. I was born there and lived there for hundreds of years, why would I dream of seeing anything beyond?”
“Well, I can’t understand why not.”
“You see, I wasn’t very convinced when my father told me to go as his envoy to Rivendell. And what’s more, I wasn’t expecting to join the Fellowship, when I was already there… But you see, fate decided for me.”
“Hm, but you sure do like making use of your bow, don’t you?”
His laughter chimed again among the trees.
“Ha, maybe you have some qualities of the elves and I have some qualities of the dwarves? Maybe that’s why we were chosen for this quest?”
“Do you think so?”
“You see beauty beyond dwarven standards, I like the passion of the fight more than an average elf, perhaps.”
“Hm, maybe there is some truth to that. But can I ask you, why are you taking me for such a private conversation just now? I feel like you haven’t told me everything about it yet.”
“You see, since we arrived at Lorién, I realized I was wrong. We all tend to judge others, especially those who are different from us, by what we’ve heard and what we know, which often is not much and even untrue. And I’ve come to see that you are not an average dwarf, Gimli son of Gloin. It’s not a mere coincidence that you were chosen to join this quest.”
“Well, it’s strange to hear those words from you…”
But I noticed a strange shift on his face, like a raincloud covering the sun.
“But that’s not all the truth, isn’t it?”
“You are observant, I must admit. Yes, it’s not all there is to my decision… You see… Gandalf’ passing also made me realize that now that we are without him, we need to look out for each other more than ever…”
There was a strange sadness to his voice. I didn’t like it. It seemed like with this sad tone, the light around us dimmed a little.
“The truth is that I’m afraid of leaving this place,” he said, stopping by one of the trees. “That made me realize how frail we are, all of us. Because even the strongest member of our Fellowship could fail. There are dangers lurking around everywhere, and who knows how long it takes until our task is fulfilled? Maybe I am just afraid of failure. How would I return to my father’s court, to my people, if I failed?”
His eyebrows furrowed slightly.
“I didn’t expect those dark thoughts to be troubling your mind…”
“Even here, in the purest and lightest of lands, darkness and sadness creep into our souls…” he muttered. “And maybe that’s the reason why I asked you to join me today. Because they don’t know exactly what we are facing, they were not there…”
“But why not the others? Why me?”
“I don’t know,” he said.
He stood still there, lost in thoughts and just looked at me, as if he wanted to know the answer himself. But then, a slight smile appeared on his face…
Why was he looking at me like that?
The canopy of leaves was hiding his face in semi-darkness, the light and shadow painting his face in a strangely beautiful mosaic. His eyes looked more golden-green than before, hiding behind a fan of long, light eyelashes…
I felt almost as enchanted as the first time I saw lady Galadriel, but this time it was different. Her gaze was like a jump into deep water, his - like light spring sun kissing your skin after a long winter…
Oh what is going on with me? Strange things are happening in this strange land…
“Shall we go now…?” he asked gently.
“Hm, yes,” I muttered. “I’m sorry, I was just lost in thoughts.”
He sighed deeply, and looked away. Maybe it was the light but maybe I wasn’t wrong and I saw a slight hint of red on his cheeks and tips of his ears.
“This place makes one's thoughts wander in unexpected places, I agree,” he sighed. “It's easy to get lost…”
“Well, I hope I won't get lost. I started getting used to you, you know…” I muttered awkwardly. “I'm sorry.”
“For what?” he asked. “No need to be sorry.”
“I’m talking nonsense,” I huffed, thanking the fate there’s only us here. I couldn’t imagine what would be if anyone heard us now… “Let’s just keep walking.”
“Well, then follow me. There might be a place that will take all our unwanted thoughts away from us for a while.”
It would be very hard to let go of those thoughts now…
Because I couldn’t help but to start searching in my mind for a crystal that would have a similar color to Legolas's green eyes…
After a bit more walking, Legolas stopped at a small clearing next to a stream that was falling from a rock, creating a sort of a small waterfall. The water rushed gently. The droplets of water were catching the sun’s rays and creating a faint rainbow above the stream.
“Oh, it’s beautiful,” I whispered, to my own surprise, mesmerized by this sight.
“Yes, it is…” he sighed, and just sat down on the grass. “Such a beautiful, calm place… Listening to the rushing of this stream, I swear I could hear old, forgotten tales it had heard centuries ago… Maybe those waters carry the voices of the elves that once sung songs here… I wonder what their words are. Oh, I wish I had a harp now. Maybe I will try and sing a song myself, maybe my voice will also be captured in those ancient waters…”
I sat down next to him and took a deep breath. The air here was light and fresh, it made me forget for a while why I am here and what brought me here. For a moment nothing really mattered but this moment, the gentle humming of the water, the light breezes and softness of the grass beneath me…
Maybe it was nothing like the most beautiful corners of the greatest cities of dwarves at the peak of their glory, but it was a different kind of beauty. Strange, mysterious and refreshing.
“So you do like singing too?” I asked.
“I’m not as good as some other elves. My father is a splendid singer. He knows more songs, some very ancient and very beautiful. I don’t have a talent for creating beautiful verses like he has. I think even our dear friend Sam is a better poet than me!” he laughed lightly.
“I think that if you were given a chance, you would sing a song equal to those I’ve heard here,” I said, supporting myself with my hands and leaning back, feeling the softness of the grass.
“You think so?”
“Well, maybe. Maybe you are not as skilled as them, but I think that talent is not as important as what one has to sing. What would you sing about? What would you like for this ancient stream to remember in your song?”
My fingers brushed his hand gently.
It was so different. His hands were smooth and slender. Mine were quite different, made for something different…
At that moment I felt that maybe we are completely different, that there is something dividing us that it’s not even possible for me to understand him. But maybe one doesn’t need to understand everything in life…?
“Of our adventures, of course. Of every deed of the Fellowship.”
“That for sure is a song worthy of eternal remembrance.”
“And it will be, that song has just begun. A lot of time will pass until the last word of it is sung.”
“Yes, but for sure it will be beautiful. It will for sure have sadness and pain in it, but it will also be full of glory and hope.”
“I’m also sure of that.”
He looked at me and smiled slightly. There was something about this smile that made me feel like it was the beginning of something new. A friendship perhaps. A friendship that will overcome years of hatred and prejudice… I hope for that. But it’s still a long road ahead of us…
But that feeling, that moment… There was something even more. But I couldn’t name it.
He looked at me as if he tried to guess my thoughts.
“Thank you, Gimli. You really made me feel a little more hopeful.”
“Me? How so?” I asked, a little surprised.
“I can’t quite say why. But I’m grateful for that,” he answered, looking away.
The wind blew a little stronger, making his hair float in the air. The sun was shining on his head, his hair reflecting its rays. And the golden leaves seemed to be of almost the same color…
I closed my eyes and hoped this image would stay in my mind and heart forever.
And then I heard him humming a gentle melody. His voice harmonized with the rushing of the water and humming of the wind among the trees…
I could only hope this will end well. I could only hope for the song of our adventures to have more light in it than darkness. And who knows, maybe even I will write its words one day, to sing it to the future generations of dwarves? A song of bravery, wonder, hope and strange beauty…
And I would be glad to sing about him as well. I would be grateful to stand by his side through what the future might bring. And for the first time, this thought didn’t seem to be so strange.