AN: While this story is finished, and has been for some time, I am currently revising it. The story itself will not change, nor will too much extra stuff be added. I'm just polishing so it's not quite so one-dimensional. However, I'm not trying to scare you off. Please read on and tell me what you think of the story itself.
Donas rode wearily on his horse, slightly apart from the small party behind him. They were still many days from Gondor. He glanced back at the figure who rode in the center of the group, constantly surrounded by Donas' men. He was a strange figure, covered always by a black cloak, including his hands. None of his men had seen any pink of his skin or heard his voice. Mysterious indeed.
Many of his men had been curious early on, and one had tried to peek under the hood while the figure slept in camp. He had crept carefully over, with everyone looking on, and reached down to move the hood, only to be gripped hard on the wrist by the stranger. Donas was amazed at the speed by which the hand had shot out, and in a flash, a short silver blade was in the other hand at the man's throat. No one else had tried since that night to see the stranger. They wisely left him alone, not even attempting to engage him in conversation. He was no more than a ghost in their party.
But their orders were simple enough from the Lady Nalaya. Escort the man to Minas Tirith, and return thereafter. Donas figured he was the victim of some affliction, going to see the king who could heal.
Donas was roused from his thoughts by the shouts of the two scouts he had sent ahead. They were speeding toward him. He dug his heels into his own horse and rode out to meet them. Too late, he saw that his scouts were pursued. He drew his sword and signaled for his men to do the same, but the glint of the stranger's blade brought him to his senses.
He had barely twenty men with him, and twice that many were quickly closing the distance between them to match steel. He could not risk his men when he still had a mission to fulfill. Donas knew the Fangorn Forest lay no more than six miles to the west. If they could reach it, they could escape their pursuers. The captain shouted for his men to retreat and turned to follow.
They pushed their mounts hard, quickly covering the distance to safety, but their horses, already tired by heavy travel, were no match for the fresh horses of the rabble that followed. Donas' own horse stumbled, throwing him to the ground. They were soon overtaken.
"Felnor! Gahren! Get the stranger to safety!" he called out, fending off blows from the mounted attackers. The rest of his men stayed to help buy some time for those three. They tried to hold the attackers off, but sorely outnumbered, a small band broke off and rode after the stranger and his smaller escort.
They were making a large dent in their enemy, but his own force had already been cut in half.
Donas absorbed a blow with his shield and separated the head of his assailant from his body before checking the progress of Felnor, Gahren, and the stranger. Their pursuers had bows and had already felled Gahren. The others were just disappearing behind a hill.
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"So Master elf, have ye ridded yourself of ye fancy for the trees that we can go home now?" Gimli toddled along over the overgrown paths of Fangorn, keeping pace with the long legs of his companion as they guided their horses along the uneven ground.
"It is no fancy," came the answer from directly before him. "The trees are as alive as you or I. Their songs are the wind."
"Yeah, well, they haven't been all that friendly since we came here. You may speak to the trees and listen to their songs, but I am dodging their branches and trying not to be swiped. A forest is no place for a dwarf."
"It is not the dwarf they mind, but the axe in the dwarf's belt."
"If they mind the axe, they mind the dwarf," Gimli huffed, drawing a smile from his fair companion. "Where are we going to, anyway? I think you've talked to every Ent in the forest that you could. We should be heading off to see the Halflings, or even-." His speech was halted by Legolas' upraised hand.
The elf stood very still, listening intently to the sounds of the forest so far off, Gimli could not hear them. His head turned suddenly to the east, his deep brown eyes flashing.
"There's trouble beyond those trees," he said, pointing toward a thick wall of ancient trees.
Gimli followed the direction he had indicated and saw nothing but branches waiting to swat him and vines in hiding to trip him his legs.
"Are you sure, Legolas? There is no one in this forest but ourselves."
"I can hear them as if they were right before us." He was mounting his horse as he spoke. "Several horses pursuing one. A horse was felled and I heard the cry of pain. Come, Gimli! That rider needs our help!"
As Gimli scrambled up onto his own horse, Legolas leaned down and spoke to his steed, which turned and sped toward the tight knit trees. The elf spoke aloud now, in a language Gimli could not understand, and the branches pulled from the path, allowing the riders to pass safely and quickly.
The companions rode hard, the dwarf staying close behind so he would not become lost in the labyrinth of foliage. The way was clear ahead, but a glance over his shoulder revealed that the paths were closed again after they passed.
'At least I'll get to bloody my axe,' he thought to himself, 'rather than tromping through woods and talking to trees.'
Before long, even Gimli could hear the sounds of the far off battle, but as they cleared the forest and rode into the open countryside, they found evidence of how near they had been. A single man lay dead, pierced by three arrows, a hundred yards from the forest. A dead horse was half that distance from the trees. The second horse lay near the man.
Legolas rode out to the nearer horse. A black cloak lay partly under the animal. The elf pulled it out and held it up.
"Ringwraiths?" asked Gimli. "But the ring was destroyed."
"It is not from a Ringwraith," Legolas answered. "They are no more. But there must have been a second rider who wore this and was taken." His eyes scanned the land around him. Whoever abducted the second rider was gone. The elf lowered his eyes to the ground, which was still soft from the showers the night before. A deep indentation marked where the rider had fallen, half beneath the horse. The elf's keen eyes discerned where his body had been dragged out from underneath the animal's carcass. He told as much to the dwarf. "The rider was still alive."
"Maybe his companions saved him," Gimli said.
"No. I believe some evil is coming to the rider. They took him north. You can see their tracks."
"I can't see anything. But this seems like a better adventure than talking to nature. Lead on, Master Elf, and Gimli, son of Gloin, will follow."
Night fell, but their way was still well lit by the full moon, which was beginning to rise. A gathering of trees was directly ahead. Legolas could easily discern smoke rising from a fire within. They had set up comp. He motioned to Gimli and they rode quietly to the edge of the gathering and left their horses to graze. Legolas strung his bow and Gimli clutched his axe, ready for anything. The elf walked lightly, betraying no sound that he had entered the wood. Gimli had to be more careful, trying to step lightly, but finding a twig or branch under his boot more often than he would like. He bit his cheek to keep his swears from his tongue. Luckily, there was so much noise in the camp, none of them heard his heavy steps.
"Twelve men? We attack a party half the size of our own, and only get away with twelve men?" A bone was thrown into the woods and flew just to the right of where Legolas had knelt behind a shrub. He peered through the leaves to where several of the men were arguing.
"We got gold and supplies," retorted a new voice. "Now there are fewer for us to split it with. It is not a bad thing." It was a large man who spoke, challenging the first man with his voice. "Besides, we got entertainment. I, for one, don't like to share my entertainment."
Legolas followed the man's gaze across the clearing to where their prisoner lay. He was surprised to see that it was a woman in men's garb. She was on her side, her knees drawn to her chest, arms behind her back. Her ankles were crossed and bound. Her eyes were closed, most likely unconscious rather than sleeping in the midst of her danger. The short intake of breath to his left told him that his companion had also seen the prisoner. He wondered what they meant by entertainment.
The sound of a sword being drawn brought the elf's attention back to the men. It was the first man, the smaller man, who held the sword in his hand.
"No one will have her until I have. She is my prisoner."
It dawned on Legolas what was in store for the prisoner as several more men drew their blades to defend their own rights to rape the poor woman. He was disgusted that men would dare to violate a woman against her own will. Legolas could sense the dwarf's rage beside him, inflamed by what these men thought of as entertainment. Legolas motioned to Gimli to stay where he was, then crept around the camp until the woman lay a few feet ahead of him. So far, she was in no danger, as the men were fighting over her, cutting down their own numbers without any help from her would-be heroes. Legolas waited, watching as five men were struck down in the scuffle, including the smaller man who had claimed her. Still, the men fought. One who had snuck away to get to the woman was pierced in the throat by an arrow he never saw, unnoticed by the others.
Finally, the squabble was over. Five men had survived and were moving to take their prize. Legolas stepped into the clearing, an arrow notched and drawn.
"You will not touch the woman," he told them.
In the light of the fire, the men could not see that it was an elf who stood before them. The large man laughed. "You're no more than a boy. Will you try to stop us?" He leapt forward with his sword and was met by Legolas' arrow. Instantly, another arrow was notched and released into another assailant. Gimli appeared from the wood behind and flew into a fury as he killed two of the men with his mighty axe and Legolas killed the last one.
"There are others approaching," Legolas said as he knelt beside the woman.
"Then we should get out of here before they appear," Gimli said.
Legolas cut her binds with his knife and lifted her over his shoulder. They quickly made their way back to the horses. Gimli steadied her on Legolas' mount while the elf climbed on behind her, then steadied her by holding her against his chest. The elf, the dwarf, and the woman escaped into the night.