Chapter 52: Difficult to accept.

-Mirkwood-

Legolas walks calmly towards his parents' room. Moments ago, Tauriel had informed him that his mother was requesting his presence. He wanted to find out why his kind mother, who always supported him, was opposed to the idea of him spending time with Sigrid, Bard's daughter. Bard was the man who often visited the port to collect the wine traded between the Wood Elves and the men of Esgaroth.

After a few minutes, he found himself in front of a door adorned with exquisite carvings. The door bore several Elvish inscriptions detailing the year it was made and other information.

"Tok, tok"

Knocking softly on the door, he waited for his mother's permission to enter. He didn't have to wait long, as within seconds, a melodious voice filled with kindness was heard from the other side. "Come in, my son."

Opening the door, Legolas found himself in a spacious room that radiated warmth, whether from his mother's presence or something else, he couldn't tell. Seated on a couch by a bookshelf was an extremely beautiful elf. Her blonde hair resembled the soft summer sunlight, and her sky-blue eyes, full of warmth, looked at him with great joy and affection. Her smile enhanced her already beautiful face.

"It's good to see you, mother," Legolas said dryly, with the etiquette his father had taught him since childhood. However, this behavior did not please his mother, who with a wave of her delicate hand made a dismissive gesture. "Don't be so stiff with your mother, dear. There's no need for that boring etiquette when we're with family. Now come, sit down. We have much to talk about."

With a gesture of her hand, she indicated the other couch in front of her. Nodding, Legolas sat down. Only a wooden table with floral arrangements separated them.

They remained in a comfortable silence while his mother tried to find the best way to start the conversation. After a few seconds, she spoke in the most affectionate tone possible.

"I think I've given you enough time to think, dear. So let me ask: Do you still want to keep seeing the human woman?" she asked. She could guess the answer, her son was probably in love with that human woman. Initially, she and Thranduil had believed it was just curiosity on their son's part, as he had never seen a human woman before. But that thought vanished when they found out their son ventured outside the kingdom for days just to see the human woman.

She was happy, she wouldn't deny it, but also worried. What mother wouldn't be happy and concerned about her son's first love? However, she knew that her son's love was impossible, as fate would not allow it.

"Yes, mother. I've had this strange feeling. Not seeing her makes me sad. That's why I want to understand this feeling. I plan to keep seeing her, with or without your permission," Legolas declared, maintaining his serene demeanor. He planned to spend time with Sigrid and had decided to take the next step and get closer to her.

With a sigh, his mother slowly stood up. Every movement she made exuded elegance. With calm steps, she sat next to her son and gave him a gentle hug, conveying all her maternal love through that act. As if returning to his childhood, Legolas unconsciously leaned into his mother's embrace.

Still hugging him, his mother, with her melodious and affectionate voice, began to speak. "That feeling is called love. It is a very beautiful thing, but it can also be tragic," she said, as she started to caress her son's soft hair, a consoling gesture for the information that would follow.

"There was only one case in all of history where an elf fell in love with a human woman. Lady Galadriel's elder brother, Aegnor, who fell deeply in love with the human Andreth. Unfortunately, fate decided to separate them. They never married or had children. Shortly after their separation, Aegnor perished in battle against Morgoth, and Andreth, in her sorrow, died of depression," she explained. It had been a long time since she had read about them, a tragic story that could not be, due to what was written by the great Eru.

"Why are you telling me all this, mother?" Legolas asked. His mother's gentle gesture calmed him, but he still didn't understand why she was giving him this information.

"Because I fear that fate will hurt you."

"Why would fate hurt me?" Separating from his mother's embrace, Legolas looked her in the eyes. He couldn't understand what fate had to do with his desire to be with Sigrid.

With a sad sigh, his mother looked into his eyes and gently placed her hand on his cheek. "Because it is said by the great Eru that there will only be three times when the union of both races, elf and human, will be permitted. One has already occurred: Tuor, a mortal, and Idril Celebrindal, daughter of the king of Gondolin, the parents of Eärendil, the second was the marriage of Beren Erchamion and Lúthien Tinúviel

I consulted Lady Galadriel about whether you and Sigrid could be the third couple to unite both races, but unfortunately, I received a negative answer," she said, her eyes filling with tears. It pained her to say this and crush her son's hopes. "You cannot be the third, my son. It would go against the designs of the great Eru."

Stunned by the information he had received, Legolas remained silent. As he lowered his head, he felt sadness; his chest tightened, and a tingling sensation ran through his stomach. If it was something said by the great Eru, there was nothing he could do. With clenched fists, he stood up and hurried out of his parents' room, wanting to be alone.

As Tauriel walked through the halls, she encountered Legolas, who was heading towards the forest, clearly wanting to leave the kingdom. She quickened her pace, managing to catch up with him. "Legolas!" she said, grabbing his arm. However, what she wanted to say got stuck in her throat when she saw that his best friend's eyes were glassy.

Legolas, despite being emotionally unwell, gently took Tauriel's arm and moved it away from his own. With a broken voice, he said, "I want to be alone, Tauriel. Don't look for me." He didn't wait for a response from Tauriel and continued on his way.

-With Aldril -

"I already told you, Gandalf, I found it in the Troll's cave. When we left Rivendell, I discovered it was a storage ring," I said, sighing in boredom. I had spent more than two hours convincing Gandalf that this ring was not evil.

"Magical rings are not toys, Aldril. I need to be sure it's safe for you," Gandalf replied. His attitude showed he wouldn't leave until he was sure my ring had nothing to do with Sauron.

"For the great Aulë, give him your damn ring so he can inspect it. You've been at this for two hours, and I'm getting fed up," said Glóin irritably. I turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. Besides Gandalf and Bilbo, the dwarf was the one I got along with best, so it was normal for him to talk to me that way.

Wanting to put this matter aside, I sighed, took off the ring, and handed it to Gandalf. "Here, you can inspect it," I said, extending my hand so Gandalf could take the ring.

With nervousness written on his face, Gandalf took it. He examined it delicately, his face occasionally furrowing as he clearly wanted to determine if it was the One Ring. He closed his eyes for a few minutes, then opened them and, with a relaxed demeanor, handed it back to me.

"Here, there's no problem with you using it. It appears to be just a storage ring. They are extremely rare; throughout my life, I've only heard mentions of them. This is the first time I've seen one. Take good care of it," he said, smiling at me. Not being stingy, I nodded. I could understand his concern, but my ring was silver in color, like moonlight.

As for the One Ring, Bilbo had it. I wanted to tell Gandalf about it from the beginning, but when I was about to, the voice that had allowed me to acquire my two sword skills whispered another message to me.

-Flashback -

When the group was about to sleep, Aldril wanted to approach Gandalf and secretly tell him that Bilbo had a magical ring. With Gandalf's intuition, he would eventually discover that it was the One Ring. But when I tried to get up, an unknown force kept me lying down.

At that moment, an incredibly beautiful yet powerful voice whispered in my head, "~The shadow must remain in ignorance until the designated time. Those who know the truth, keep silent, and protect the secret of the One Ring. Only then can the plan set from ancient days be fulfilled, and hope prevail over darkness. Thus we decree, we, the Valar, guardians of Arda and the fate of all its inhabitants. Let this mandate be remembered and respected until the moment of truth arrives and destiny is fulfilled~"

Those words struck me deeply. The Valar, who were the gods/angels guarding Middle-earth, were still attentive to everything happening. This voice was possibly from the great Varda, with whom I was most closely connected. So, not wanting to go against their will, I remained silent. I could only murmur, "So be it, my lady." If I had opened my eyes, I would have noticed that my hair was glowing faintly in tune with the stars, clearly showing that the great Varda was pleased with my behavior.

-Present -

My conversation with Gandalf was overheard by Bilbo, who also wanted to know more about the ring he found in the goblin kingdom, but something prevented him from asking Gandalf. So he decided not to mention anything about his magical ring.

"Gather your things, it's time to go," Thorin's voice rang out. We had finished breakfast, so it was time to leave. Since everyone already knew about my magical ring, they asked me to continue storing their belongings in it. I raised an eyebrow at their request; I didn't mind storing their things, but Thorin, with a very different attitude, approached me and said he would add more gold to my contract for helping with their luggage. His attitude towards me had changed; you could say he trusted me more, possibly because I had saved him on more than one occasion.

***

Hours had passed, and we were still walking through the forest. Gandalf, Bilbo, and I found ourselves at the back of the group. Bored by the silence, I decided to ask a question that probably puzzled everyone who had only seen the Lord of the Rings movies.

"Hey Gandalf, I was wondering, dwarves and elves don't get along, do you know why?" I asked carefully and in a low voice, but it seemed Gandalf didn't mind if others heard us.

"Well, it's quite curious. Both races have a very strong racial hatred for each other, and this has been going on for centuries. I don't know why their racial hatred began," he said. Clearly, he knew but didn't want to mention that humans and elves were created by the great Eru, while dwarves were shaped by Aulë and later given life by Eru, but they were not his creation. This natural animosity was something he didn't want to explain.

I felt a bit disappointed by his response, but my disappointment didn't last long because Gandalf continued speaking.

"What I do know is that there was only one time when dwarves and elves had a 'friendship.' The elves of Eregion and the dwarves of Moria in the Second Age formed an alliance that took the craftsmanship of Middle-earth to its peak. But this 'alliance' happened because the elves of Eregion fervently desired knowledge. They, like the Noldor of Fëanor and the Dúnedain of Númenor, fell into corruption due to their own desires."

This clearly left everyone astonished. No one knew this, and I even saw Thorin's eyes widen in surprise. This information was incredibly valuable, and Gandalf shared it as if it were nothing. Although I didn't know who the Noldor and the elves of Eregion were, it sounded like they were important.

"What? Why did everyone stop?" Gandalf asked, confused, until he suddenly realized and with an "Oh" understood that what he had said was incredibly impactful for everyone, especially the dwarves. Despite the Dwarves of Durin being the least racist towards elves, they still harbored enmity, and it was surprising to them that members of their race had friendship with elves, particularly the dwarves of Moria.

"Heh, it was to be expected, the idiots got corrupted by their own stupidity," Dwalin mocked. It was shocking to know that at some point, dwarves had friendship with elves, but what did it lead to? It led to those foolish elves becoming corrupted.

With an exasperated sigh, Gandalf continued walking, not wanting to hear the dwarves' diatribes. Quickly, we all resumed walking. As we moved forward, people occasionally asked Gandalf about this friendship. He clearly only answered those who wanted to know more, and I was among them.

"At least it won't be a boring journey from here on," I murmured as I looked ahead at the Lonely Mountain. We were getting closer, and I was extremely nervous about what lay ahead. But before that, I needed to increase my attributes, and I would do so once we rested.

***

You dirty orcs! You've disappointed me! No positive reviews lately! Stupid humans are leaving us negative reviews! You have disappointed us all, so I have resorted to asking the Uruk-hai for help, perhaps they will support us in our fight! 

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