A JEWEL IN THE DARK
Author: Oakenshield  
oakenshield@lonelymountain.zzn.com


G
Legolas remembers why he should not fear the dark. (rather fluffy)

Disclaimer: Legolas, Khazad-Dûm, Mirkwood, Gandalf, Aragorn, Frodo, Samwise, 
Merry, Pippin, Boromir and Gimli all belong to Tolkien and I make no claim to 
them. But Arthalion and Edlothia are mine! All mine!

AN: A row of asterisks indicates flashback.

"A JEWEL IN THE DARK"

It weighed heavily on his chest. It filled his nose, earth and stone; dust; 
death. It filled his ears, silence so loud that his breath seemed to bounce off 
the walls and come back to whack him painfully in the eardrums. Gimli lay 
nearest to him, fast asleep and snoring. He felt as though the sound would be 
enough to bring the roof crumbling down on his head. The roof was far above him, 
but he felt as though it was but inches from his face. He felt blind. Even his 
sharp eyes could not pick out a single image. Just the images that stuck in his 
mind. Memories.

Memories of how his fear had begun. Memories of a dark cave, many many years 
ago. A dark disused cave on the east side of Mirkwood.

He had not been afraid of the dark as a very small child. He had liked it. Dark 
brought glowing stars. And dark brought bugs, which he could gather and scare 
the maids with. It was on an afternoon in his tenth year when that all changed. 
He had been out walking with his mother and ran into a cave. She had forbidden 
him to, but ever eager he had ignored her and gone exploring regardless. He had 
not taken him long to find out why he should have heeded her warnings, for a 
large crevice opened near the mouth of the cave, and he had tumbled down into 
the darkness. The distance was not great, but the sides were wet and slippery 
and he had not been able to climb back up. His mother had tried to save him, but 
- headstrong as he - she had attempted to get to him by herself rather than 
going to fetch help. She had fallen the same way as him but not so gently and 
her neck had broken as she hit the bottom.

It had been the first time he had seen a dead body and for a long while he 
didn't realise what was happening. He remembered how her neck had been awkwardly 
twisted, and how blood ran from a gash on her head. Her eyes had been open, as 
if in light sleep, and he had tried in vain for longer than he could remember to 
try to wake her. Then night had fallen and there had been nothing but darkness. 
No sound except water dripping from the roof, and the occasional bat whizzing 
overhead. The night had been bitter, and the cave was colder than anything he 
had ever known. He had huddled to his mother's body to try to keep warm, but she 
had grown cold so fast. Mother had always been warm, with a soft bosom and 
ever-open arms, but she had been cold and stiff. And it was then he had realised 
that she was not going to wake up for him. Or ever again.

The cave had turned suffocating then, as the darkness crushed him and the only 
sound was his sobbing reverberating off the walls. It had only been one night, 
he had been found early the next morning, but at the time it had seemed like 
forever.

He turned in his blankets, fidgeting on the cold stone floor of Khazad-Dûm. It 
was not cold there, rather the opposite, but the memories gripped his mind, and 
a sob forced it's way from inside his chest.

"Legolas," a voice whispered at his ear, and a hand touched his shoulder 
startling him. "Legolas, there is nothing to be afraid of."

****

"There's nothing to be afraid of, Legolas." Arthalion, his eldest brother 
perched at the edge of his bed, tucking a stuffed bear under the sheets beside 
him. "Father says I have to turn out your lantern tonight."

"No!" he implored him. Darkness had terrified him ever since that night, though 
nine weeks had passed.

Arthalion reached across to stroke his hair and placed a kiss on his forehead. 
"Would you like me to stay until you fall asleep?"

Legolas nodded, reaching for his brother's hand as tears rolled down his cheeks. 
"I miss Mother so much," he whispered. "It was all my fault."

"No, Legolas!" Arthalion turned his face towards him. "It was an accident. It 
was not your fault."

His brother's words did nothing to comfort him. He knew if he had obeyed his 
mother and not gone into the cave then she would still be with him. He 
remembered his father's face when he had been found and brought home the next 
morning, with the Queen's body over a horse. He had blurted out what had 
happened and fallen on his knees before him to beg for forgiveness. It was his 
sister, Edlothia, but half a century older than himself who had run to embrace 
him and comfort him. His father had just looked at him and walked away. It would 
have been easier if he had struck him. At least then he would have known his 
anger. But Thranduil had not spoken to him since that morning.

"Father thinks it is my fault, doesn't he?" he sniffed.

"I don't care. It was not your fault, and don't you ever think that it is." 
Arthalion shifted him over and lay under the blankets beside him. "Cuddle up. 
I'll tell you a story."

Legolas snuggled close against his brother's shoulder, sliding his arm across 
his chest to twine his fingers in his hair. He knew Arthalion would always be 
there, whatever happened. He would always be there to take care of him.

"Once upon a time." he began.

"Why do all stories start with 'once upon a time'?" Legolas asked with a frown. 
"It's boring."

"All right," Arthalion grinned. "Long ago, there lived a little prince in a 
faraway land. The little prince was very strong and brave, but he had one 
weakness. He was afraid of the dark."

"Like me!" Legolas piped up. "Is the prince me, Arthalion?"

"If you want him to be, dearest," Arthalion kissed his head. "Now stop 
interrupting."

Legolas shut his mouth with a snap.

"The little prince was afraid of the dark. He would not sleep without the light 
of candles, and his family worried greatly about him. The prince himself was 
bothered by his fear, for he got teased about it. He wished and wished that 
something could happen to make it all go away. One night, when everyone was in 
bed, the prince woke up to find he was all alone and the candles in his room had 
burned out. He called out, but no one came to him. So, he lay in bed - very 
afraid - and cried and cried, until he looked out of his window and saw the 
stars and the moon. Though it was dark outside, they were casting a light, so he 
slipped from his bed, put on his robe and snuck outside. He looked up at the 
moon and wished again, out loud, that he could be cured of his fear.

Suddenly, the moon seemed to shine brighter, until it nearly blinded him, but as 
the light dimmed again he saw a tall old man standing before him, robed all in 
white. The prince was scared at first, but the old man took his hand and asked 
him his troubles. The prince told him of his fear, and the old man pondered 
about it for a few moments.

'I am a great wizard,' he told the little prince. 'I do not normally appear so 
easily to little princes, but I see your need is great. 'Tis why you called me.'

'I did not call you,' the prince said, confused. He wondered if he was still 
dreaming.

'Ah, but you did," the wizard said. 'Your soul called me. Now I can grant you 
your wish, but first I must set you a task.'

The prince did not like the sound of being set any tasks, and he frowned.

'Do not frown like that until you have heard what I want you to do,' the wizard 
told him.

So, the prince sat beside him on the floor and waited to hear what the wizard 
had to say.

'In order for me to rid you of your fear,' he said, 'you must search for a 
bright jewel in a dark place.'

Now, the little prince was very troubled by this, for he didn't want to go 
searching anywhere dark.

'Can't you just cure me by magic?' he asked.

The wizard laughed. 'No I cannot,' he replied. 'I will not cure you just like 
that. Why should I do it for nothing?' "

"That wasn't very nice of him!" Legolas cried.

"I haven't finished yet. Now hush," Arthalion scolded lightly. "You've spoiled 
my thread now Legolas."

"The wizard said he couldn't do it for nothing," he told him, tossing the 
stuffed bear aside to cuddle up closer to Arthalion.

"Ah, yes," Arthalion continued, lifting him to lie in his lap. " 'Why should I 
do it for nothing?' he asked. And like you, the little prince thought it was 
very unfair, and stormed back inside the palace without a word. When he woke the 
next morning, he thought over what the wizard had said to him. He wondered if 
had been a dream, but it seemed very real to his memory. He had to find a bright 
jewel in a dark place for his fear to be cured. He dreaded searching in dark 
places, and could not think why he would find a bright jewel in any of them. But 
he thought that it would be worth it in the end if he would be cured. So for the 
next week he looked in cupboards, and wardrobes, under beds, in attics, in 
cellars but he could not find the jewel. He grew very annoyed."

"So would I!" Legolas cried, giving a sheepish smile and lowering his head as 
Arthalion shot him an annoyed look. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I'll be quiet."

Arthalion sighed through a fond smile. "The little prince grew very annoyed and 
frustrated - and I can certainly sympathise with him."

"I'll be quiet!" Legolas insisted. "Finish the story, Arthalion. I want to know 
how the prince got on!"

Arthalion grinned at him. "The little prince grew very annoyed and frustrated as 
the days went by. He forced himself to search in all the dark places he knew, 
going into deeper and darker places in hope of finding the jewel, out in the 
gardens at night, and in caves, but still he could not find it. One night, he 
went into the gardens and the old man appeared to him again. The little prince 
was angry with him, for he thought he had tricked him. But the wizard sat down 
and laughed long and loud until tears rolled down his cheeks. The little prince 
thought he had gone cracked.

'I have found no jewel!' he stamped his foot in temper. But the wizard just 
laughed louder, eventually composing himself to speak. 'But you have,' he said.

'I have not!' the prince insisted, growing even more furious, jumping up and 
down until his face turned purple."

Legolas giggled. "That would have been a sight!"

" 'You have made me search in all the dark places that I am afraid of and I have 
found nothing!' cried the little prince. 'You lied to me!'

'No, I did not,' the wizard said. 'You are cured. I did not make you to go in 
dark places. I told you that you would find a bright jewel in a dark place.'

'It's the same thing!' the prince argued. 'You have not cured me, you 
pretender!'

'Where did you search?' the wizard wanted to know, still smiling. So the prince 
told him. 'Cupboards, under my bed, in the cellar, in the garden at night with 
no stars, in a great big cave.'

'And you went into them without fear,' the wizard said. 'The bright jewel I 
spoke of was in your heart, little prince, and your heart was the dark place. 
But you did not see that. You looked in actual dark places. I knew you would be 
afraid but I knew you would be determined, and you were. Can you not see, you 
have overcome your fear all by yourself without even realising it, and with no 
magic.'

And then the little prince understood. There was a bright jewel in his soul, and 
his fear was the darkness. But now he had faced his fears, the darkness in his 
heart was gone and he could feel the light shining. He turned to hug the wizard, 
but he had gone.

The next night, the little prince went to bed and his maid came to light his 
candles but he told her not to.

'But you will be afraid, little prince,' she said.

'I will not,' he told her and sent her from the room.

That night he slept with no candles, and the moon shone through his window all 
night. He had never noticed how pretty the moonlight was before, for the 
candlelight had always drowned it. He was nervous as the light grew dimmer, but 
he was surprised to find he was not afraid at all. His fears had indeed been 
cured. Darkness could never bother him anymore, for he knew that he was stronger 
than it, and it could not hurt him. Only his own imagination could, and he 
decided he was not going to let it anymore.' " Arthalion, lifted Legolas from 
his arms and laid him back against the pillows. "And that, my dearest, is The 
End."

"The wizard was very clever, then," Legolas said with a yawn, suddenly feeling 
very tired.

"He was," Arthalion agreed, reaching to pick the bear up off the floor. "Here, 
have him back. He'll take care of you."

Legolas took the bear back and put it beside his pillow. "And what happened to 
the little prince after?"

"Oh, the little prince grew up to be a big prince," Arthalion told him. "A great 
warrior, actually, whose name went down in history and was sung about in songs 
for centuries."

"And was he ever afraid of the dark again?"

"He had to face great darkness at times in his life, yes," Arthalion said, "and 
he was troubled, but he remembered the wizard's words and each time he searched 
for the light in his heart and held on to it. And he was not afraid ever again." 
He stood up out of the bed and tucked the covers tightly around Legolas. "Now 
sleep."

"Does it really work though?" Legolas asked him as he stood. "It's just a story. 
Will that really work? Do I have a light in my heart?"

"We all do, Legolas," Arthalion said. "It's different things to different folk. 
My light is my wife. And it was the same for Father, that is why he seems so 
angry at the moment. See if you can find what yours is." He winked and kissed 
him. "I'm blowing the candles out, Legolas. Tell me in the morning if you've 
found it."

****

The light that night had been the memory of his mother when she had been alive. 
He had remembered her dancing in the sunlight. But tonight, in the darkness of 
Khazad-Dûm it was different. There were lots of lights: the hobbits - Sam with 
his fierce loyalty shone with red fire, Frodo's bravery and humility shone blue, 
Merry and Pippin shone yellow with their positiveness and ever-ready jests. 
Gandalf shone white with power. Boromir and Gimli shone dimmer, and he felt they 
would need him soon.

And Aragorn shone the brightest. Though he could not see him in the dark, he 
could feel his hand running gently through his hair and his breath against his 
cheek as he whispered comfort into his ear. Aragorn knew of his fears and would 
comfort him all through the night if he had to, depriving himself of sleep. 
Aragorn was like that. Faithful and constant.

"Legolas, are you all right?" he asked, shifting nearer to him.

"Yes," Legolas whispered, turning over to lie close to him. "I am fine. There is 
nothing here that can frighten me."

~END~