Author: Mirrordance
Title: Sacred Betrayal
Summary: Elrohir forfeits the life of his brother Elladan for a secret price and Aragorn and Legolas go to unspoken dangers to discover the cause of this most sacred of betrayals…
PART 1: The Message
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Northwestern Borders of Mirkwood
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"Keep your head, Estel!" Legolas exclaimed in dismay, releasing an arrow that zipped across space, defying time. It had passed so close to Aragorn's face that he felt the displaced air against his cheek, and heard the thwok of its strike against an orc that had slipped past his defenses, come too close behind him without his notice.
Aragorn growled, displeased at his laxness and his pride stung by the arrogant elf's scolding. He plunged his sword into another orc, venting his displeasure at where it ought to go.
It took the two seasoned warriors and a small band of elf soldiers from Mirkwood a few more minutes to dispel their attackers. The borders of the kingdom were once again safe, at least for the moment. Greater dangers were afoot, what with the reclaiming of the evil fortress of Dol Guldur south of the great realm.
"My head is where it ought to be," grated Aragorn to Legolas in a low voice.
"What?" the elf inquired almost absently, feigning innocence and pretending to have forgotten what he had said in the midst of the minor battle, as he gathered his used arrows about the dead orc that now littered ground.
Aragorn narrowed his eyes and bit at the inside of his cheek in irritation, before he sighed and bent to help the elf recover what shafts could still be used. Legolas looked at him from the corners of his eyes, his lips quirking into a smile.
"You sure quit early," he teased the man.
Aragorn looked at him wryly, casually pulling out an arrow from the hide of an orc, "You were right. I have been somewhat distracted as of late."
"Are you not in accord with your brothers?" Legolas asked politely, his brows furrowing, "I notice that you have been traveling around on your own as of late—not very wise, by the way—and seldom have I ever seen the three of you apart. Come to think of it, I don't think I ever have."
Aragorn shook his head. "I felt it was about time I went into the Wild. To be among folk of my own kind, to know the best of their ways and their hearts, if I am to be worthy of becoming their King. It has nothing to do with a rift between the terrible twins and I."
Legolas smiled at the nickname, but steered the conversation adroitly towards what was troubling his old friend, "I believe you live a rather charmed life, mellon, I do not know what could possibly be bothering you."
"Charmed?" laughed Aragorn in a way that adamantly refused to reach his eyes, "Hardly."
Legolas frowned and looked at him worriedly. "Estel…"
"I met Arwen Undomiel."
"I see," said Legolas after a moment, understanding at once what that meant.
Man and elf worked in silence for several minutes, before Aragorn asked, "What are you thinking?"
Legolas pursed his lips in thought, "Well I would not fall for a mortal as much as I can help it. We are destined for different ends. It's like Luthien and Beren. It is beautiful, yes, but ultimately tragic."
"Therefore?" pressed Aragorn.
"You play with fire, my friend," sighed Legolas, "Such is a heartbreak I would not wish for you, or for the Evenstar, or for anyone. But I've never known you to cower from anything, much less for a matter where what is at stake is your heart. Lead on, I say. And may the seasons bear what fates they will. After all, you can only do what is right by how you know it. If your spirit deems this so, then I cannot doubt it, could I?"
Aragorn smiled at him, seemed more settled. "Thank you."
"And thank you," grinned Legolas cheekily, taking the arrow shafts from Aragorn's hands and putting them into the quiver upon his back.
~A rider approaches,~ says Amadis, Legolas' aging guardian and one of the soldiers from the North-Western border patrol he presently commanded, ~He rides in the colors of Rivendell.~
Legolas glanced at Aragorn, who with him stepped forward to meet the anxious new arrival.
~What news?~ Aragorn demanded at once.
~Lord Elrond received word that you were to stay here for the season,~ began the messenger. Legolas looked at Aragorn wryly; both knew that the report must have been from Legolas' father, who was a kindred to the overburdened Lord of Imladris with their wildly wanderlust-ing sons.
~And my first message had been of better tidings,~ he continued, ~To remind you to be careful, and to tell you to return home soon.~
~And what of your new message?~ asked Aragorn edgily.
~There was a party of ten hunting orc, including Masters Elrohir and Elladan,~ replied the messenger, turning Aragorn's blood cold, ~They have been missing for a little over a day now, with signs of a skirmish found along the route they should have taken.~
~Where was this?~ Legolas asked.
~North of Gladden Fields,~ replied the messenger, ~Near Hithaeglir. There were no casualties found, save for orcs. But if they were well, they ought to have returned sooner.~
~Either they were eaten or taken as prisoners,~ Legolas said stonily, knowing his objectiveness was required by the situation, ~Who is tracking?~
~Our best men, my lord,~ replied the messenger, ~We are counting that the orcs would choose the latter. Prisoners taken in that area could only be brought to few places…~
~The orc-strongholds in the North,~ Legolas filled in, ~or if they had gone to their southeast, towards Dol Guldur here. In Mirkwood.~
~My horse,~ Aragorn said to a steward, who immediately handed him the reins of his black stallion.
"I know where you are going," said Legolas severely, "Do not rush into the fray, Estel. Go to your father first, take counsel with him. He needs you."
"My hands are best used in the field," said Aragorn as he mounted his steed, "where they will serve my brothers."
~If I may be so bold to say so, Master Estel,~ said the messenger hesitantly, ~Rivendell and Lord Elrond have been cast in a great gloom. Return home.~
"The best trackers are working on this," insisted Legolas, "Most of whom equal your skills in the least. But none of them have your ada's heart. You may be his token son left. Take counsel with him first."
Aragorn set his jaws as if to argue, but ultimately nodded his head. ~I will return to Imladris with you,~ he said to the messenger.
"Tell Lord Elrond," said Legolas, "that I will speak with my father and extend our own patrols in case the orcs with their prisoners head towards Dol Guldur. Orcs are impatient, their masters at least just as so. If they choose to go through Mirkwood from Gladden instead of avoiding our realm and go the long way around towards Dol Guldur, we will find them, there is little doubt of that."
The Prince of Mirkwood motioned for one of the soldiers with him, ~Give the messenger a fresh horse.~ To Aragorn, he said, "Be safe, Estel. I will see you soon."
"Stay out of trouble, mellon," Aragorn said to him with a small smile and a little fire in his worried eyes, before his steed bore him away.
TO BE CONTINUED…