Priceless Treasure

Prologue

by Cassia-(T) and Siobhan-(T)

"Priceless Treasure" art by Cassia

"Priceless Treasure" art by Cassia-(T)


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PG-13


Grey rain slated down Aragorn’s face, making his dark tresses cling to his brow.

Choose.

But he could not choose. How could anyone make the choice being set before him? It was impossible. It would break a heart of stone, and right now, Aragorn was very aware that his heart was made of anything but.

Legolas’ blood covered his hands and ran down to mingle with the mud by his boots as he clung to the elf, willing the life to stay in his friend’s body. He was the King of Gondor and Arnor, but he could not command Legolas’ heart to keep beating, nor bind his spirit to this world if it should choose to set flight.

"Stay with me, Legolas," he whispered softly in elvish. "Don’t leave me like this, my friend."

Beside him, Aragorn’s young son, Eldarion, struggled against the bonds that held him, the bonds that Aragorn was now helpless to remove. The boy’s quick breathing around the gag in his mouth clouded on the chilly air as Aragorn met his son’s eyes, wishing he had something to give the young man besides the burning knowledge of how very much his father loved him.

"So which will it be?" the voice of the man who had orchestrated this whole nightmare grated on Aragorn’s nerves, making him want more than anything to spring up and choke the life out of his sneering adversary... but any such move would forfeit all their lives.

"Your life is full of choices isn’t it? Your Highness," the title was a slur. "So choose now or they both die."

The rain pelted as fast as Aragorn’s spinning thoughts. This didn’t seem real. He couldn’t be here, this couldn’t be happening. None of this was supposed to happen like this. It had all started out so normally, a simple trip, a simple task, that’s all it had been, all it was supposed to be.

The King’s mind slipped back to that first day on the plains of the gap of Rohan. It all seemed like a dream now, like another lifetime ago that he had watched as the soldiers were setting up camp and dusk was falling over the area...

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