Title: Leith, Free

Author: Calenlass Greenleaf

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Tolkien, The Mellon Chronicles belong to Cassia and Siobhan. All three are brilliant writers I admire.

Rating: R, because the story itself is rated R. Poor Legolas...

Spoilers: Contains spoilers for "Captive of Darkness".

Timeframe: Pre-LotR. Legolas is one hundred years old in this story.

Summary: A prose poem on the MC story, "Captive of Darkness", my favorite Legolas story. It's a hurt/comfort scene (I have a weakness for such). It was the first MC story I read, the second fanfic that made me cry, and the third fanfiction I read. This was what got me hooked onto Legolas angst, and then on Aragorn angst. Any love mentioned is platonic. No slash is intended or implied in any of my works.

A/N: Please pardon any mistakes, for I was forced to type this using WordPad on a (borrowed) laptop instead of my usual Microsoft Word. It's very annoying, without spelling or grammar check. I hope it turns out okay.

A/N #2: Special thanks to Nieriel Raina and Pentangle (linnon) for all the comments you two have given me for all my writings so far. Le hannon, mellyn nîn. You two keep me writing!

A/N #3: This is a revised Edition after NiRi pointed out a mistake. I hope that's the only mistake.

Leith, Free

Naeg...

That is all I have felt,

Dyl...

That is all I have known,

Ever since stepping into the world of men.

When will my pain end?

When will the horrors cease?

I have tried to go on.

I have tried to stay hopeful.

But now I have failed.

"Failure" whispers the darkness,

"You have failed." It says.

And it is true.

Wounded, broken, and shattered--

Words cannot express my feelings,

They cannot express my heart,

Express my soul,

My spirit.

I am a captive, a prisoner,

Alone and injured,

With no one to care for me.

I have been scorned and mocked,

My innocence stripped away.

They have taken away more than my innocence.

They took away my will to live,

They have shamed my name, violated me,

And left me with an emptiness that none can fill.

I have no more tears left to cry.

I no longer want to go on.

I could die right now,

Die and leave this terrible world.

I wanted to be free,

Free from these chains, these bars.

Free from pain, from suffering.

I wanted to soar freely,

But my hopes have been cruelly dashed, broken.

Like me.

Immortality is a curse,

For I will never forget what had happened,

Nor will I forget what had been done to me.

My last words are a plea, a prayer:

Leithio nin, Eru nîn, le cenin, leithio nin!

--Legolas

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

It is only hopeless if you think it so.

I know you are in great anguish,

My heart grieves for what you have been through,

For I myself have witnessed it before.

I know the emptiness, the pain.

The loneliness, the wish to die,

For I have been in that situation.

I remember the sleepless nights,

The torturous nights I have spent,

Locked up and fettered.

I remember when I watched the birds flying freely,

They had not a care in the world.

I remember the many times I thought of home,

When it was far, far away from me.

My only hope.

I remember the battles I have fought it,

The killings I have witnessed,

The trials I have borne.

I have lived on this earth longer then you,

And I can tell not all I have seen was fair.

I saw much cruelty, much evil.

Many times, more then I care to recount.

But I tell you now,

Hope always exists.

It may be hidden, but it is always there.

Though you may be a captive, a prisoner, on the outside

Desolate and mistreated,

Bound and injured.

Your heart, spirit, and soul are still free,

If you want them to be such.

You have a choice to make, my young friend.

You can either give up, and die,

Or take the harder road that leads to healing.

You can learn to go on, and be free of the past.

I pray you will choose the second path.

I have faith in you that you will heal from this experience,

I have faith in you that you will learn to go on.

I have faith in you that you will receive the strength and courage you need.

I have faith in you that you will be able to trust again.

Keep the beacons of your spirit burning, my friend,

And find the hope that will keep you going.

I know you will overcome this.

Eru sí, mellon nîn, Eru sí.

--Elrond

I Veth

Translations:

Naeg - pain

Dyl - horrors

Leithio nin - Free me (or release me)

Le cenin - I beg of you.

Eru nîn - my God

Eru sí - God is here

mellon nîn - my friend

I veth - The end

A/N: Ae ú-dhambeth tôl o le; ú-narn tôl o nin (If no review comes from you; no story comes from me). So, please, kindly review/comment and tell me what you think. Constructive criticism is gladly accepted, but flames are ignored. But at least flames tell me someone read stories. I mean, I get a bunch of hits, but no reviews. Rather disappointing. So please, REVIEW.

A/N #2: are horrible, but I can't use asterisks (because FF.Net won't let me), which sucks.

Navaer!

Calenlass Greenleaf, Keeper of Legolas' pronunciation of "Aragorn" and the brotherly bond between Legolas and Aragorn.