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prance_legolasSorry for the delay, folks. Mother Nature and her ice storm conspired with the power company to help bring this chapter to you in real time. For those who didn't make the connection, this chapter actually took place on the evening of December 17th, 2002.
Thought you might like to see Faek Me wearing the Santa hat that the old man at the tree farm plopped upon our elf's head.
Tissue alert. Maybe a whole box. You knew it was coming--Hell, it even made ME cry....
Chapter 22 The Journey Home
The bathroom door's shut now. He’s getting ready to go. His clothes were all cleaned, but when we realized everyone would know if he came back too spruced up that he had been off somewhere else, we remedied with a little washable watercolor paint in all the right colors, all the right places.
I feel excited, yet fearful at the same time. A part of me feels relived for him, that he can now be reunited with his friends and loved ones, free to be who the blessed Valar created him to be. That other part of me, though, is a mixture of sadness, trepidation, and loneliness that even those words do not express properly.
I know that I will be forever grateful to him for all he’s taught me about life, and love, and letting go, and being free. He’s so young at heart, yet so ancient in his ways at the same time. My life is forever richer having spent just this little piece of eternity with him.
‘Knock it off, al,’ I tell myself. ‘It won’t do for you to let him see you this way. Must keep up the 'Fantasy Island' façade so that he’ll always fondly remember his trip.’ Blinking back the tears that threaten to fall, I rise from my chair and head down the hallway. My heart stops at the closed bathroom door.
Wafting softly on the air, wending its way through the crack around the doorframe, I hear the most melodious fair tenor voice, singing:
Baeb I’m leabing
I muest be oen my wae
Da tiem is draweeng neer....
I can’t catch the sob before it escapes my throat.
“al? Iz dat u?” he calls from the other side of the door.
I swallow hard, and bite the inside of my cheek until I can taste the blood.
“al?” he calls again.
I hear the clink of the hairbrush being laid on the bathroom counter. I can’t hear him move to the door, though I’m certain he’s coming. I toss my head, shaking off the sadness, and put on the mask I will wear tonight. My happy face. The one with the crows feet at the corners of my eyes, from too much smiling all the young years of my life. I turn my back to the door, wanting to buy myself just a second more—
“THE PLANE! THE PLANE!” I exclaim as he pulls open the door to find me grinning madly over my shoulder at him and pointing to the ceiling as if it were clear blue sky.
“U ar too talle tu be Tattoo,” he scolds with a radiant smile on his glowing face. There’s certainly nothing more beautiful than one of the Eldar race when they’re happy.
“I hope you’re not ever planning to tell the guys about ‘Fantasy Island’,” I tease him. “There are some things about Modern Earth I want you to forget, okay?”
“Dere ar sum thangs I WAENT tu furgit!” he giggles.
“Come, let me look at you,” I ask him, pulling him by the hand down the hallway and into the den where the light’s better and there’s more room. I pull him a little harder before letting go, twirling him around into a spin. “Perfect,” I say. “Every little hair in place.”
“Weel, I’v bean doin my owen hare for over too thozand yeerz,” he scoffs.
“You know that’s NOT what I meant,” I retort, wagging my finger at him. “It was a — “
“I noe, a feegur of speech,” he interrupts. He pauses, looking intensely at me. “Tuern arond, led me luuk at u,” he says, taking my own hand and giving me a little spin. My magenta velvet dress swirls about my legs, my black elven boots turning the tight pirouette he leads me in.
“Thank you for doing my hair,” I say, blushing under his scrutiny.
“U ar welkum. I thank my faevorit paert is steel da faek poented eerz.” He smiles, then winks at me. “And I weel be da oenly won whoe weel noe!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Babe I’m leaving
I’ll say it once again
And somehow try to smile
I know the feeling we’re trying to forget
If only for awhile
‘Cause I’ll be lonely without you
And I’ll need your love to see me through
Please believe me
My heart is in your hands
‘Cause I’ll be missing you
Babe I love you
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My worries of how we’ll sneak Legolas into the theater dressed in his Middle earth garb are soon worries no longer. It seems all of Middle earth has turned up for this party. There are human replicas of Aragorn, Faramir, Eowyn, and Eomer, as well as barefooted wee folk with curly hair everywhere. The taller ticketholders are doing pretty fair imitations of our favorite elves too. There are even a couple of wizards and orcs about. Legolas is by far the most realistic looking, of course.
With our tickets in hand, we join the line that’s already progressing through the doors to the lobby. I take the ticket stub from Legolas after the theater ticket-taker tears it in half. Yes Dear hands me his stub as well as he passes through.
“Ar u goen tu maek anuthr kullekshun?” the Prance asks me, referring to the stack of twenty-four tickets I’ve kept marking each time I’ve attended ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’, and the second stack of tickets almost as big that I kept for every person I managed to coerce into seeing it with me.
“Oh yeah, baby,” I say, winking and waving the stubs at him. “I’ve got one now for me, and two for the sucker pile.” This brings a laugh from him.
As we reach the theater entrance, Legolas suddenly pulls me aside, saying to Yes Dear, “Jest a minit, pleeze, I nead tu tael al sumpthin.”
Yes Dear nods, silently understanding, and proceeds down the aisle to hold our seats.
As the hoards of people pass us by, full of anxious anticipation, the Prance of Mirkwood leans toward me, his lips all but brushing my left ear. “I waent tu kees u, but I caen’t,” he says.
My heart screams ‘Kiss me, Kiss me!’ but my mouth says, “I know. I’m married, you shouldn’t.”
“Noe, dat’z not it,” he whispers. “If I kees u, I weel krie.”
I pull back to gaze into his baby blues. His eyes are tearing, as are mine. Quickly, in order to save us both, I switch to my trademark humor. “You’re an elf worrier. You don’t cry,” I tease.
He straightens up, standing tall and lean, a real fighting machine. “Das rite. I em an Elf Worrier.” He smiles, and everything we've shared in the past nine months passes there between us, all in a silent moment filled with that smile.
The flood of midnight premier moviegoers becomes a trickle as the last of the lucky ticket holders file in, popcorn and soda in hand. “You don’t have any candy in your pockets, do you?” I chide. “You know we talked about how you have to go back in just like you came out.”
“Noe,” he answers with another wide grin. “Due I hav tiem tu git won laest Peenuat Budder Kuep?” He moves as if to return to the concession counter, teasing with me. As he does so, I hear the opening music, and a cheer rises up from within the theater. The movie’s starting.
Our eyes meet. He takes my hand, and together we walk into the darkened theater for the last time.
Stopping at the right hand corner of the screen, I whisper to him, “No bell, nin caun. No beren.”
“Alcar achas, Arwenamin,” he whispers to me. “Pan nath no mae.”
Squeezing my hand one last time, he smiles at me in the darkness of the theater, then turns away, moving to his place nearer the screen, as I do to mine, seven rows up on the left-hand side where my Yes Dear awaits me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It’s everything I hoped for, and more.
I stayed in my seat through the credits as always, once again paying homage to those underlings who bring the coffee and wash the costumes. The ones who lay out the clothing and make sure the meals are eaten. The ones who make sure everyone’s in the proper place when they’re supposed to be. I will forever remain one of them.
Once again everything in my life has changed. As it has in his world as well.
For you see, Legolas Greenleaf, Prince of Mirkwood and member of The Fellowship of the Ring, no longer lives in the closet at my house. This is the end of my part in his story.
The house lights come up, and once again I notice Yes Dear and I are the last to leave the theater.
“I need to go to the restroom,” Yes Dear says. “Do you want to stay here for a few more minutes?”
I nod my head yes, as it’s all I can do right now. As he leaves, I venture to the front of the theater, to the right hand corner of the screen, hoping beyond hope that, by some miracle of fate, I’ll come upon him there, as before.
But I’m alone, once again.
Legolas is gone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Elven translations:
No bell, nin caun. No beren.
Be strong, my prince. Be bold.
Alcar achas, Arwenamin. Pan nath no mae.
Do not fear, my lady. All will be well.
Song lyrics for 'Babe' can be found on the Styx Cornerstone album.
'Fantasy Island' reruns can be found on your local cable TV channel.
Thought you might like to see Faek Me wearing the Santa hat that the old man at the tree farm plopped upon our elf's head.
Tissue alert. Maybe a whole box. You knew it was coming--Hell, it even made ME cry....
The bathroom door's shut now. He’s getting ready to go. His clothes were all cleaned, but when we realized everyone would know if he came back too spruced up that he had been off somewhere else, we remedied with a little washable watercolor paint in all the right colors, all the right places.
I feel excited, yet fearful at the same time. A part of me feels relived for him, that he can now be reunited with his friends and loved ones, free to be who the blessed Valar created him to be. That other part of me, though, is a mixture of sadness, trepidation, and loneliness that even those words do not express properly.
I know that I will be forever grateful to him for all he’s taught me about life, and love, and letting go, and being free. He’s so young at heart, yet so ancient in his ways at the same time. My life is forever richer having spent just this little piece of eternity with him.
‘Knock it off, al,’ I tell myself. ‘It won’t do for you to let him see you this way. Must keep up the 'Fantasy Island' façade so that he’ll always fondly remember his trip.’ Blinking back the tears that threaten to fall, I rise from my chair and head down the hallway. My heart stops at the closed bathroom door.
Wafting softly on the air, wending its way through the crack around the doorframe, I hear the most melodious fair tenor voice, singing:
Baeb I’m leabing
I muest be oen my wae
Da tiem is draweeng neer....
I can’t catch the sob before it escapes my throat.
“al? Iz dat u?” he calls from the other side of the door.
I swallow hard, and bite the inside of my cheek until I can taste the blood.
“al?” he calls again.
I hear the clink of the hairbrush being laid on the bathroom counter. I can’t hear him move to the door, though I’m certain he’s coming. I toss my head, shaking off the sadness, and put on the mask I will wear tonight. My happy face. The one with the crows feet at the corners of my eyes, from too much smiling all the young years of my life. I turn my back to the door, wanting to buy myself just a second more—
“THE PLANE! THE PLANE!” I exclaim as he pulls open the door to find me grinning madly over my shoulder at him and pointing to the ceiling as if it were clear blue sky.
“U ar too talle tu be Tattoo,” he scolds with a radiant smile on his glowing face. There’s certainly nothing more beautiful than one of the Eldar race when they’re happy.
“I hope you’re not ever planning to tell the guys about ‘Fantasy Island’,” I tease him. “There are some things about Modern Earth I want you to forget, okay?”
“Dere ar sum thangs I WAENT tu furgit!” he giggles.
“Come, let me look at you,” I ask him, pulling him by the hand down the hallway and into the den where the light’s better and there’s more room. I pull him a little harder before letting go, twirling him around into a spin. “Perfect,” I say. “Every little hair in place.”
“Weel, I’v bean doin my owen hare for over too thozand yeerz,” he scoffs.
“You know that’s NOT what I meant,” I retort, wagging my finger at him. “It was a — “
“I noe, a feegur of speech,” he interrupts. He pauses, looking intensely at me. “Tuern arond, led me luuk at u,” he says, taking my own hand and giving me a little spin. My magenta velvet dress swirls about my legs, my black elven boots turning the tight pirouette he leads me in.
“Thank you for doing my hair,” I say, blushing under his scrutiny.
“U ar welkum. I thank my faevorit paert is steel da faek poented eerz.” He smiles, then winks at me. “And I weel be da oenly won whoe weel noe!”
Babe I’m leaving
I’ll say it once again
And somehow try to smile
I know the feeling we’re trying to forget
If only for awhile
‘Cause I’ll be lonely without you
And I’ll need your love to see me through
Please believe me
My heart is in your hands
‘Cause I’ll be missing you
Babe I love you
My worries of how we’ll sneak Legolas into the theater dressed in his Middle earth garb are soon worries no longer. It seems all of Middle earth has turned up for this party. There are human replicas of Aragorn, Faramir, Eowyn, and Eomer, as well as barefooted wee folk with curly hair everywhere. The taller ticketholders are doing pretty fair imitations of our favorite elves too. There are even a couple of wizards and orcs about. Legolas is by far the most realistic looking, of course.
With our tickets in hand, we join the line that’s already progressing through the doors to the lobby. I take the ticket stub from Legolas after the theater ticket-taker tears it in half. Yes Dear hands me his stub as well as he passes through.
“Ar u goen tu maek anuthr kullekshun?” the Prance asks me, referring to the stack of twenty-four tickets I’ve kept marking each time I’ve attended ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’, and the second stack of tickets almost as big that I kept for every person I managed to coerce into seeing it with me.
“Oh yeah, baby,” I say, winking and waving the stubs at him. “I’ve got one now for me, and two for the sucker pile.” This brings a laugh from him.
As we reach the theater entrance, Legolas suddenly pulls me aside, saying to Yes Dear, “Jest a minit, pleeze, I nead tu tael al sumpthin.”
Yes Dear nods, silently understanding, and proceeds down the aisle to hold our seats.
As the hoards of people pass us by, full of anxious anticipation, the Prance of Mirkwood leans toward me, his lips all but brushing my left ear. “I waent tu kees u, but I caen’t,” he says.
My heart screams ‘Kiss me, Kiss me!’ but my mouth says, “I know. I’m married, you shouldn’t.”
“Noe, dat’z not it,” he whispers. “If I kees u, I weel krie.”
I pull back to gaze into his baby blues. His eyes are tearing, as are mine. Quickly, in order to save us both, I switch to my trademark humor. “You’re an elf worrier. You don’t cry,” I tease.
He straightens up, standing tall and lean, a real fighting machine. “Das rite. I em an Elf Worrier.” He smiles, and everything we've shared in the past nine months passes there between us, all in a silent moment filled with that smile.
The flood of midnight premier moviegoers becomes a trickle as the last of the lucky ticket holders file in, popcorn and soda in hand. “You don’t have any candy in your pockets, do you?” I chide. “You know we talked about how you have to go back in just like you came out.”
“Noe,” he answers with another wide grin. “Due I hav tiem tu git won laest Peenuat Budder Kuep?” He moves as if to return to the concession counter, teasing with me. As he does so, I hear the opening music, and a cheer rises up from within the theater. The movie’s starting.
Our eyes meet. He takes my hand, and together we walk into the darkened theater for the last time.
Stopping at the right hand corner of the screen, I whisper to him, “No bell, nin caun. No beren.”
“Alcar achas, Arwenamin,” he whispers to me. “Pan nath no mae.”
Squeezing my hand one last time, he smiles at me in the darkness of the theater, then turns away, moving to his place nearer the screen, as I do to mine, seven rows up on the left-hand side where my Yes Dear awaits me.
It’s everything I hoped for, and more.
I stayed in my seat through the credits as always, once again paying homage to those underlings who bring the coffee and wash the costumes. The ones who lay out the clothing and make sure the meals are eaten. The ones who make sure everyone’s in the proper place when they’re supposed to be. I will forever remain one of them.
Once again everything in my life has changed. As it has in his world as well.
For you see, Legolas Greenleaf, Prince of Mirkwood and member of The Fellowship of the Ring, no longer lives in the closet at my house. This is the end of my part in his story.
The house lights come up, and once again I notice Yes Dear and I are the last to leave the theater.
“I need to go to the restroom,” Yes Dear says. “Do you want to stay here for a few more minutes?”
I nod my head yes, as it’s all I can do right now. As he leaves, I venture to the front of the theater, to the right hand corner of the screen, hoping beyond hope that, by some miracle of fate, I’ll come upon him there, as before.
But I’m alone, once again.
Legolas is gone.
Elven translations:
No bell, nin caun. No beren.
Be strong, my prince. Be bold.
Alcar achas, Arwenamin. Pan nath no mae.
Do not fear, my lady. All will be well.
Song lyrics for 'Babe' can be found on the Styx Cornerstone album.
'Fantasy Island' reruns can be found on your local cable TV channel.
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no subject
Date: December 18th, 2005 03:47 am (UTC):( so sad! a box of tissues isn't enough!
But I’m alone, once again.
but not. b/c all of the Prance's fangirls are right here with ya...
*hugs* glad you made it through the ice storm & found your way back to us!
no subject
Date: December 18th, 2005 04:30 am (UTC)I know. I had the hardest time re-reading this chapter. Couldn't see the screen very well, and it wasn't the lack of electrical power....
And it's wonderful not to be alone. *hugs*
It's also wonderful to be clean from Mum's shower, and warm too! I am soooooo not a cold weather person!!! Could you hear me whining from there???? *hangs head in embarrasment* The Prance would be so ashamed at me...totally un-elven behaviour, which Yes Dear kept reminding me constantly.
no subject
Date: December 18th, 2005 04:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: December 18th, 2005 04:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: December 18th, 2005 04:23 am (UTC)Knew it was coming and it's all for the best, but still...
*crawls off in search of comfort food*
no subject
Date: December 18th, 2005 04:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: December 18th, 2005 04:51 am (UTC)he's gone!!!
*WAILS*
no subject
Date: December 24th, 2005 02:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: December 18th, 2005 05:53 am (UTC)I get it all straightened out and look up at "Faek Me" with the hat.. He didn't even get to keep his santa hat or anything...
I'm glad you're back, Al.
Even if you did make me cry.*HUGS*
no subject
Date: December 24th, 2005 02:37 am (UTC)He had to leave everything behind, but such is the life of an elven worrier I guess. I always loved to hear him say that.
**HUGS YOU BACK**
no subject
Date: December 18th, 2005 05:56 am (UTC)Well, nothing but 'exceptional', at any rate. Loved it from start to finish. Though I am melancholy at your loss, to know that I can throw in my dvd's and find the Prance is always a blessing.
Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful tale. I will direct others here who need their souls touched.
no subject
Date: December 24th, 2005 02:40 am (UTC)Thank you for reading. I'm glad I could share his fabulousness with you!
no subject
Date: December 19th, 2005 08:24 am (UTC)"with a radiant smile on his glowing face" is always how I'll remember the Prance!! Silly hats and all . . . :D
I really enjoyed this - it was sooooo inventive! Thanks so much for sharing your talent.
no subject
Date: December 24th, 2005 02:45 am (UTC)(actually, the first thing I did was clean out the smelly stuff in the fridge, but then I came straightaway in and posted this....)
I'll always remember him for that same expression. He's really much more than that quiet, stoic, serious warrior the movie showed us. I'm forever grateful I could share that side with you!
no subject
Date: November 13th, 2006 06:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: November 15th, 2006 04:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: November 21st, 2006 12:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: November 22nd, 2006 02:55 am (UTC)I hope that helped. Your comment here means the world to me. I'll even forgive you for the evol picture from a few posts back, okay?
no subject
Date: January 22nd, 2007 07:26 am (UTC)i know he's not smiling here, but still, this shot makes me think of him in the pickup going out to look for a christmas tree.
thanks for such loveliness as this story.
no subject
Date: January 23rd, 2007 05:44 am (UTC)If you were to look at him while he was mid-verse of the chorus to "Angels We Have Heard On High," he looked EXACTLY like that!
And now I'm wondering if he took the opportunity to SING that once he got back to Middle-earth?
Oh, well.
I'm sorry this made you cry. It still makes me cry every time I read it too. EVERY SINGLE TIME.
Thanks so much for the picture, and for being here for me! (((hugs)))