Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings or any of its original characters!

Rebuilding

Introduction

He stuck his head into the doorway. It was pitch dark and silent, except for the occasional sound of dripping water. He hurriedly lit a torch and looked around. The room looked like it had been beautiful once, but no one had been in it since the death of its master. Now, this once lowly servant dared to enter. He stealthily made his way deeper into the home. For though on the outside it resembled nothing but a barren cave, on the inside it had truly been a home. He continued his way deeper and deeper inside. Though the master was assuredly dead, old fear made sure he kept silent. Others appeared in the room behind him. It was clear they were searching for something, but they passed up many items of value and kept going.

Finally, after hours of searching and after going deep into the personal chambers of the "palace" they seemed to have discovered what they wanted. Their numbers were depleted after having to get through all of the traps set up for intruders. The room they were now gathered in was relatively empty, occupied only by what looked to be two large, stone cabinets that seemed to have no openings. There were no slits, handles, or knobs, and yet, the men were not discouraged. They gathered around these cabinets, seemingly awaiting something.

After five days of waiting, the cabinet on the right abruptly gave off a pulse of energy, and then one of the sides disappeared. A teenaged boy stepped regally out of the opening and looked around himself; he was obviously used to being in command, with the way he looked at the group of armed men around him with utter contempt on his face.

"What are you doing in here? No one is permitted to be here."

"Sorry, little lordling, your daddy ain't here to protect you no more."

"Do you think I need him to protect me? I command you to leave before I get truly angry."

His command was met with malicious laughter.

"We ain't bowing down to a little brat like you anymore."

The boy concentrated and reached for his power but nothing happened. For the first time, emotion entered his silver eyes, in the form of surprise.

"Surprised? We got our own sorcerer to fix it so your powers wouldn't work. You ain't no threat to us now."

At that moment, the other cabinet opened, and a small boy fell out. The older one quickly caught him.

"Big brother?"

"I'm here, Keris."

"Where's daddy?"

"Yor daddy's gone."

The boy called Keris looked up at his older brother, and his blue eyes filled with tears when he didn't deny the claim. The men came forward and attempted to bind the elder one's hands. He moved quickly and was able to avoid them. Keeping his hold on his little brother, the youth pushed his way out of the room and down the hall. He continued running until he reached his destination, a hidden door. He shut it quickly behind him and held a hand firmly over Keris' mouth. From inside the hidden chamber, he heard their pursuers run by. Sighing, he released his brother and slid to the ground, what he'd learned finally hitting him. His father was dead, and his powers were gone, hopefully not permanently. What was he going to do?

"Athame?"

"What is it, Keris?"

"Is daddy really gone?"

"Yes."

He knew this for sure now; the palace which had always been filled with his father's presence was now empty and cold. Keris climbed into his older brother's lap, and surprisingly, Athame wrapped his arms around him. He showed no emotion on his face, but this simple action was enough to comfort Keris. It had never been Athame's way to show emotion on his face or with words, to which Keris was well-accustomed.

"Don't worry, Keris; we'll be fine. We don't need father to survive."

He stood up and took his brother's hand, and they started down the dark corridor which would eventually lead them outside of the castle. Once outside, Athame had no idea what they would do, but he knew that they had to get away from the men who were chasing them, in his current powerless state, he could not hope to defeat them. He had to have time to figure out how to unbind his powers. Luckily, since Keris hadn't come into his yet and he hadn't heard them say that Athame's were gone, he could keep up the charade that everything was fine for a little longer.

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