Hey! Here we are again! Thank you for reading this and let me know what you think!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own LOTR nor THG. Just in case there would be a new character, that would be mine, but I don't think there will be any.
I'm not as familiar with THG as I am with LOTR, so if there are mistakes in the names/descriptions, please let me know!
anon: I see... No, I didn't know that, thank you for enlightening me ;)
Gleca: Well, thank you! Hope you enjoy this one too :P
GRuth: Then I hope you got the mail :) And if you read this, I guess that will be the case ;)
Nourss: This was quick, wasn't it? I just though of something. If you pronounce sherri like I think you do, then it sounds like the French chérie, sweetheart :P
TheButterflyCurse996: Thank you for all your reviews! I love you! (wasn't that the very first thing you said, or am I mistaken?) :P
"I can't see a thing."
"That's nothing new." A snort.
"Then please enlighten me, o greatest of the Eldar. What do you see?"
"Mist."
"Wonderful."
Five days earlier…
"You really should come out."
"Are you almost done nagging? I can't. I have still some petitions to see to, and I must meet one of the highest lord in Osgiliath who is delivering wood for our ships."
It was a normal day in Minas Tirith. The sky was clear, the sun shining bright, the voices of playing children could be heard in the streets. It was a perfect day for a ride in the forest.
The only problem was persuading the king.
"Faramir will look after Minas Tirith for a couple of days. He's quite capable of doing so, aren't you, Faramir?" Aragorn shot a warning glare at the poor Steward, daring him to agree. The man just shifted nervously between his stare and that of Legolas.
"Well… Your temporarily absence wouldn't bring doom upon the city, my lord," he said with an apologising glance. Aragorn scowled and bent over the papers once more.
"How could I let Faramir work while I'm enjoying myself?"
"With all respect for Faramir, but you have been far busier the lasts weeks. You just can't give any task out of you hands!"
"Being a king does not mean that everything has to be done for you. I have ever been quite capable of handling everything on my own." Exasperated, Legolas threw his hand in the air.
"Do not speak to me over king's duties, Aragorn! And besides, that was before you became king! Ruling an empire is a lot more work then roaming in the woods and hunting orcs!"
"Do you misprise my duties as a Ranger?" Legolas was saved from answering by an opening door. Arwen Undomiel, the daughter of Elrond and Queen of Gondor, entered. Immediately, Legolas laid his hand upon his chest and bowed slightly. The queen nodded smiling in return and went to the chair where her husband sat slumped.
"I think Legolas is right." Aragorns head shot up and he groaned.
"Not you too!"
"Aragorn, when was the last time you went outside the walls?"
"Two weeks ago."
"That was to examine the dwarfish repairs, my lord." The king gave Faramir a hard look, but Arwen merely laughed.
"You see? Go with Legolas, melleth nin. Faramir and I will take care of everything." Still, Aragorn hesitated.
"Are you sure? I mean, Shogi of Osgiliath is coming and…"
"I do not think he will be offended when he is welcomed by the queen and not by the king. Legolas, I trust you will look after him?"
"Always, my lady," the elf grinned and sent a triumphant smile towards the king. "Are you coming?" In imitation of the elf, Aragorn threw his hands in the air.
"How could I not, when my wife and my steward and my best friend are conspiring against me? Alas, I have no defence against such a power!" Legolas merely laughed, dragged the man out of his chair and pushed him towards the door. In a few minutes, they had reached the stables, where Arod and Wingfoot were waiting for them, saddled and well –at least, Wingfoot had a saddle, Arod wore as usual only a horsecloth. There were some bags too, filled with bread, dried meat and fruits, and some flasks with water and wine. Aragorn shook his head. Apparently, they had made their mind up for quite a long time, but when he shot an accusing glare at Legolas, the elf merely feigned surprise and exclaimed how quick the servants had been in preparing their trip. The king gave him a soft stomp and they mounted their steeds. Not an hour later, they had left Minas Tirith far behind.
That was five days ago. They had followed the river Anduin, before turning westwards along with the Limlight. That morning, they had entered Fangorn. Not the southern part, near Isengard and Rohan. No, Legolas had chosen the northern part of the forest. Very few men came this far north, and even those who did, never dared to enter Fangorn. It was a mysterious land, filled with old legends and living songs. Without Legolas, Aragorn too wouldn't have chosen this part of Middle-Earth to wander, but the elf had been curious for the old trees, and thus the horses now trotted beneath the think canopy.
Aragorn had to admit that Legolas had been right. It had been a long time since he had felt that relaxed. If only that accursed mist hadn't been there. During the morning, a fog had been assembling around them, thickening as Anor climbed. Now, they could barely see the trees anymore, let alone the sun.
"Are you sure we're still going in the right direction?" Legolas shifted nervously, but didn't answer.
"Legolas?" The elf looked at him with a slightly aggrieved expression.
"I do not know. The trees won't talk with me." Stupefied, Aragorn pulled on the bit and halted.
"Do you mean you are lost?" Legolas just stared back, daring him to laugh, but again didn't answer. The man started to grin.
"Oh, I'll have to remember this? I'm sure Gimli would find this a most amusing story!"
"Not a word to Gimli!" the elf hissed. "I dare you! I too have some entertaining stories about a certain Ranger that accidently might slip out of my mouth!" Aragorn raised his hands in a placatory gesture, but couldn't quite wipe the grin of his lips. The elf just gave him a final warning glare and spurred Arod on. Silently, they continued their trip.
At last, it seemed as if the mist was dissipating. Relieved, Aragorn patted his horse, but rose surprised as the forest suddenly seemed to end. Fangorn was wide! They couldn't have crossed it that quickly! Astonished, he looked at Legolas, but the elf was staring at something before them. When he spoke, his voice was filled with bewilderment.
"There is a fence before us."
"What?"
"A fence. Of ropes with some kind of knots in them." Aragorns mouth almost fell open.
"A fence? There is no fence in Fangorn! Could this be one of Sarumans tricks?"
"It's far too North. Saruman ruled over the Southern Part, but he had no interest here. Let us go further. I think I see some houses at the other side." The man shook his head.
"There is no village in the North-West of Fangorn," he stated, but Legolas had spurred Arod in a trot already. Soon, they had reached the fence. The ropes of which it was made, seemed quite hard. There they halted again and stared silently at the thing. Aragorn was the first to break the silence.
"I think we have a problem."
"Mmm?"
"How will we get the horses past this?" They looked at each other, and then to the fence again. Legolas looked thoughtfully.
"I think we should leave them here. There is plenty of grass, and we passed water. They will not starve."
"To what point would we leave them?"
"Well, I would like to take a look at that village. I have never seen houses like that before, and the streets seem empty. Don't you think this a bit strange?"
"Now that you mention…" Aragorn retarded lightly. "Would it be safe to touch the rope?" Legolas quickly touched it, then he shrugged.
"I think it's just a rope. After you, my lord." He raised one of the wires. Handily, the Ranger ducked beneath them and took some steps towards the village. Legolas was right. It was completely deserted, safe for some movement in a great, black building. Behind him, Legolas had also passed the fence. To Aargorns bewilderment, he brought his fingers to his nose, smelling them, before licking carefully.
"And what exactly are you trying?" Aragorn asked. Legolas showed his hands. A kind of black dust was covering them.
"It smells like the fires of Isengard," the elf answered with disgust. The man looked at his hands. There too, there was a bit of that black stuff.
"It must have been on the ropes. I do not like this."
"Neither do I. Perhaps we can find some answers in the black building."
"Perhaps." They set of again. While they were walking, they attentively watched the area. All of the houses looked the same, built out of wood and some strange materials. They looked old. The wood was mouldy, and between the stones there were many cracks and holes. Without exception, they were covered with the strange dust. There were footprints in the earth, but no sign of horses. This must be a poor village. Aragorn wondered whether they were under the jurisdiction of Rohan or Gondor, or perhaps they were independent?
They would soon find out.
Near great black building, Legolas silently pointed at the black stuff that had gathered upon these stones too. Aragorn nodded to show he had seen it, and gestured at his ears. After some initial confusion, Legolas eyes widened and he loosened his braids, allowing his golden hair to cover his pointy ears. Then they entered.
It was chaos. Dozens of little stalls were shattered all over the place, all of them dusty and filthy. Behind them, old people were standing. At least, they looked old at first sight, but when he looked closer, he saw that their faces were hard, etched with worries and a lack of food, covered with the foul dust, but not always old. He would estimate that most of the sellers were between forty and fifty year, and they were almost all women.
Between the stalls, all kinds of men were walking; children with hollow cheeks, women with dirty dresses, a few elder men with dust upon their faces and their clothes. As he was examining them, one of the shopkeepers saw him and immediately stopped her bargaining with a crooked man. Slowly, life faded away as everyone started staring at the two strangers. Legolas slightly turned towards Aragorn.
"Im inc alderi sì." (I do not think we are welcome here)
"Na milui," he whispered, (be nice) then he smiled at one of the elder woman. She just watched him with pinched eyes. His smile wavered a bit before her angry glare. He just was about to say something, as she opened her almost toothless mouth.
"What do you want?"
"Er… We wondered whether someone could take care for our horses? We left them behind the fence." A collective gasp arose. The woman looked dismayed.
"Behind the fence? What business do you have there?"
"We just wished to visit your village, my lady," Legolas lied smoothly, but the woman snorted and laughed mockingly.
"My lady. Did you hear that boys? Well, that's one who know how to treat a woman! What do you want boy? A kiss from an experienced lady?" Legolas blushed furiously as the crowd burst out in laughing. A male, old voice transcended the rumour.
"On horses you said you came here?"
"Yes…" Aragorn replied hesitantly.
"Well, seems that there will finally be some meat we know in your soup, Sue!" Loud laughter.
"Our horses are not for eating!" Legolas' angry voice was just washed away. Aragorn felt confused. He had not idea what they were doing wrong. Usually, they had no trouble blending into the crows. Eventually, the noise dimmed again.
"Well, well, you gave us quite an amusing time, I must admit. But you didn't answer our question yet. What are you doing here?"
"I…" Looking for help, Aragorn turned to Legolas, but the elf also didn't know what to say. Suddenly, the woman –Sue?- grabbed his clothes and held them a few inches from her eyes.
"These look some fine garbs. We don't have something like that here in District 12. Where do you come from? Two? Three?"
"Minas Tirith," Aragorn conceded. Perhaps by playing this game, they would find out some answers.
"And where would that be, boy?" Her sceptical expression clearly showed she didn't believe a word of what he said. The man couldn't belief his ears. Surely, even in Northern Fangorn they must have heard…
"Perhaps they ran away and try to escape through our District," a woman suggested. "Perhaps they wish to escape the Hunger Games." Sue nodded thoughtfully.
"That could be. How old are you, boys?" Aragorn looked at Legolas, who shrugged.
"My name is Strider, this is my friend Las. I'm 97, he's 2931." Somewhere, a child snickered, but for the remainder, everything stayed silent.
"You can try to fool your granny, boy, but not Sue. You," she stabbed Aragorn with her forefinger, "are trying to flee your job in the mines, and you," she pointed at Legolas, "want to escape the Hunger Games. But that won't work. What counts for us, counts for you too!" Assenting murmuring.
"I assure you we are not on the run for…" Again, Legolas was totally ignored.
"What will we do with them?"
"Why do we not let him volunteer at the Reaping?" Shouts of agreement arose.
"I say we gave them to the Peacekeepers! They can keep them until the Reaping Day." Aragorn raised his hands and tried to say something, but a punch in his stomach blew the air out of his longs. They were taking away, out of the building, towards some men in strange, with clothes and glass before their faces. And not very long afterwards, they were sitting in a little cell, covered with dust and wondering what in the world could have gone wrong?
I hope Katniss and Peeta will come along next chapter, I'm having difficulties persuading them to meet Aragorn and Legolas... But I will persuade them eventually ;) Until next time!
xXx Archiril