Disclaimer: None of this is mine. Any unrecognizable characters and places
are mine, more than likely.
Chapter #1
"Come on! Hurry up!"
Two figures tromped through the snow of the Ered Mithren Mountains. Or, should it be said, one person shoved his way through the snow, while the other walked calmly on top of it.
Legolas, an elf of Mirkwood, looked back to see how his human friend, Aragorn, was faring in the deep drifts. Aragorn was currently waist deep and struggling past a particularly large pile of snow.
"Be patient! I can't walk upon the snow like you!" the ranger said, as he heaved another step closer to his companion. He shook his dark hair out of his eyes and looked up at the elf standing above him, silhouetted against the sun. A mischievous light came into his eyes as he looked at the fair being.
"Though you can be a friend and help me!" With that he grabbed hold of the elf's leg and pulled, causing Legolas to lose his balance and topple into the snow. The elf sputtered, as he shook his long blonde hair, and glared at the ranger who was laughing uproariously at the rare sight of an elf falling.
"That wasn't very nice," Legolas said, which only caused the human to laugh harder. He stopped laughing, however, when a well-aimed snowball hit him full in the face.
Now Aragorn was the one shaking snow out of his hair and off his face. He looked at Legolas, and both smiled slightly, before erupting into a full- fledged snowball fight. After a while they stopped, and resumed their climb.
"We aren't acting our age, you know," Aragorn stated matter-of-factly as he climbed out of the snow onto a flat boulder, hauling Legolas up with him.
"Its okay for you, you're young," Legolas answered. Aragorn snorted and smiled.
"Come, we must continue our trek if we are to find the old cave Elrond spoke of." The ranger then motioned to the base of the mountain they were standing at. "Elders first, old man."
He took off as a snowball flew by his head, and the elf quickly gave chase, both laughing.
~*~*~*
Upon the side of the mountain the man and elf were climbing, perched eleven figures, all cloaked and hooded; ten males and one female. They gazed down impassively as the two figures steadily made their way up. The leader of the group looked at his fellows, noting their expressions grimly.
"What do we do about them?" asked the female, her obsidian eyes glinting coldly as she examined the intruders.
Another who stood beside her hissed eagerly, "Let's chase them off. Our orders are to rid the area of possible enemies!"
The lead figure snarled. "No! You will not hinder their approach just yet, understand?" The group nodded, though some looked displeased with the command. The leader smiled, a malicious light coming into his eyes, as he returned his gaze to the two below. The wind blew fresh snow about, his long, raven black hair billowing, revealing two delicately pointed ears and jet-black eyes that were alight with an inner fire.
Further down the slope, and still both unaware of the fact that they were being observed, Legolas and Aragorn continued their journey.
"Come Aragorn! We shall reach the top of this hill soon, and there is less snow there. You will be able to walk without assistance." Legolas stood above Aragorn as he struggled once more through the high snowdrifts.
"Good. I'm quite weary from all of this snow," Aragorn muttered wearily.
What they did not notice were the dark shapes slowly positioning themselves for an ambush on the intruders.
"You know what, Legolas? I can't believe we haven't seen a single living thing out here. You'd expect us to have run into something! Whether it is a bird or an orc, something must live here," Aragorn commented as he walked with welcomed ease through the thinning snow.
"And something does, ranger," a voice no louder than the wind around them said.
Both elf and human snapped their heads up and found themselves surrounded by eight people. Their long hair blew, revealing them to be elves.
"Who are you, and where do you hail from?" the dark haired elf, which must have been their leader, said harshly. His eyes, and the eyes of the others, were dark sheets of jet black obsidian as they glared down upon the trespassers. They also all sported darker shades of hair, either black or very dark brown.
Legolas and Aragorn straightened as best as they could, considering they were waist deep in snow. "We are just passing through, from Rivendell. We meant no harm," Legolas said firmly. He did not like these elves; something was odd about them.
"You best hurry! We do not enjoy company, and our Guardian and Prince do not take kindly to those who wander in our lands unbidden, so I suggest you leave this place and do not come back!" The lead elf snarled, and the other elves perked up at the thought of battle, should the pair refuse to leave.
Aragorn and Legolas backed off, then turned and fled. As they left hearing distance, the lead elf turned to three elves, barking orders as he did so,
"Teysrol, Savarre, and Sirithiliel. You three make sure they leave, and are a good distance away. Take some of the Companions with you, preferably your own."
The three elves gave emotionless nods and trotted off over the soft snow, emitting odd calls as they did. Their bonded Companions bounded to them with snarls of glee. The Companions were actually large wolves, bonded as young pups to one of the elves. They were intelligent and devoted entirely to those they were bonded with. The three elves who were chosen were some of the best assassins the Draconis elves had.
* ~*~*
"Aragorn, I think they are following us," Legolas stated, as he jogged down a snowy path. Aragorn sprinted slightly to catch up with the swift elf, raising a questioning eyebrow.
"And how do you know that?" he asked. Legolas stopped and looked around for a moment, before answering.
"Look behind us, you can see someone, or something following us. Let's tread carefully, I have a bad feeling about this," Legolas said tensely. Aragorn nodded and followed the elf prince.
*~*~*
Sirithiliel snapped her head up, and hissed angrily. Teysrol stopped what he was doing to look at her. "What is the problem?" He eyed her curiously. She was staring in one direction, a displeased expression on her face.
"My connection has broken. Tamulis must have broken it," she snarled, as she ran her hand over the hilts of her twin swords. Tamulis was her wolf, a particularly large and smart wolf, with black fur that matched her own very dark brown perfectly. "I'll have to figure out a different way to get them." She paused, considering their options. She scanned the area, then turned to her brothers, and smiled. "If you look over that rise, you will see lights. It could be a town or village. I think they would have gone there." With nods of agreement, they headed towards the town.
~*~*~*
It was lucky for Aragorn and Legolas that they encountered a small village on their way down the mountains towards Rivendell. A blizzard was approaching, and they needed shelter. A sign above a nice looking inn read the "Black Cat" with a perfect drawing of a black cat with golden eyes below it. "Odd name for an inn." Aragorn muttered to Legolas as they walked inside. Legolas, having no great knowledge of inns, just shrugged and followed the ranger in.
Noise assaulted the elf's keen ears, and he smelled ale and beer and other things as well. Aragorn went to the counter and requested a room from the dark haired and scarred bartender. The bar tender looked over him and Legolas, then pointed at the elf prince. "For the elf, it'll be two silvers. For you two coppers. We ain't had many elf kind in here, so they cost more to house." He wiped a filthy rag into an equally filthy mug, trying and failing to clean it. Aragorn was about to say something on the unfairness of that, but Legolas shook his head and Aragorn sighed and placed a gold piece on the counter. The bar tender picked it up and held it before his dark eyes, weighed it and tested it with a knife that miraculously appeared in his hands. Once he was satisfied that it was real and not a counterfeit, he waved them to the side door. "First room on your right, and for the spare change, if you wish for a mug of ale and cheese, we'll serve it." The bartender eyed them, counting out change and handing it to them. Aragorn took it, and handed some back. "Ale and some dinner would be nice." With those words the bartender nodded and pointed the dirty mug at the common room.
Conversations stalled for a moment as they walked in, then picked up again back to normal as the ranger and elf choose a table and sat down.
Over the din of the room, no one could eavesdrop on them, so they spent the time waiting for their drinks discussing the strange elves. "Something is really wrong with them. I get a dark feeling about them. Not evil, but not good either. I don't like what they said about the 'Guardian' or their prince. If there is a royal involved, it can't be good." Legolas was saying quietly as the drinks were brought to them with food.
Waiting until the servant left, Aragorn sipped his frothy ale without really tasting it. He agreed wholeheartedly with Legolas. As soon as the boy left, Legolas continued. "I am also wondering where they are from. It can't be Lothlorien, and it is certainly not Mirkwood or Rivendell. We will have to ask Elrond about it." Aragorn nodded in agreement then started on his dinner. "We should send a message to Elrond, in case those who were following us catch up before we get to Rivendell." Once more, Aragorn nodded. The rest of the evening was spent on a more cheerful note and they talked long of past adventures. Near midnight, they retired to their room. Aragorn wrote out a letter to his adoptive father describing the odd elves in the mountains, the feelings Legolas has about them, and where they were now. With a sigh, he gave it to the bartender with a copper, and the bartender nodded, motioned to a young boy, who immediately stood and left with the message. Heading back to the room, Aragorn thought of his two adoptive brothers, Elladan and Elrohir. They would be surprised and suspicious of these elves, of that he was sure.
Chapter #1
"Come on! Hurry up!"
Two figures tromped through the snow of the Ered Mithren Mountains. Or, should it be said, one person shoved his way through the snow, while the other walked calmly on top of it.
Legolas, an elf of Mirkwood, looked back to see how his human friend, Aragorn, was faring in the deep drifts. Aragorn was currently waist deep and struggling past a particularly large pile of snow.
"Be patient! I can't walk upon the snow like you!" the ranger said, as he heaved another step closer to his companion. He shook his dark hair out of his eyes and looked up at the elf standing above him, silhouetted against the sun. A mischievous light came into his eyes as he looked at the fair being.
"Though you can be a friend and help me!" With that he grabbed hold of the elf's leg and pulled, causing Legolas to lose his balance and topple into the snow. The elf sputtered, as he shook his long blonde hair, and glared at the ranger who was laughing uproariously at the rare sight of an elf falling.
"That wasn't very nice," Legolas said, which only caused the human to laugh harder. He stopped laughing, however, when a well-aimed snowball hit him full in the face.
Now Aragorn was the one shaking snow out of his hair and off his face. He looked at Legolas, and both smiled slightly, before erupting into a full- fledged snowball fight. After a while they stopped, and resumed their climb.
"We aren't acting our age, you know," Aragorn stated matter-of-factly as he climbed out of the snow onto a flat boulder, hauling Legolas up with him.
"Its okay for you, you're young," Legolas answered. Aragorn snorted and smiled.
"Come, we must continue our trek if we are to find the old cave Elrond spoke of." The ranger then motioned to the base of the mountain they were standing at. "Elders first, old man."
He took off as a snowball flew by his head, and the elf quickly gave chase, both laughing.
~*~*~*
Upon the side of the mountain the man and elf were climbing, perched eleven figures, all cloaked and hooded; ten males and one female. They gazed down impassively as the two figures steadily made their way up. The leader of the group looked at his fellows, noting their expressions grimly.
"What do we do about them?" asked the female, her obsidian eyes glinting coldly as she examined the intruders.
Another who stood beside her hissed eagerly, "Let's chase them off. Our orders are to rid the area of possible enemies!"
The lead figure snarled. "No! You will not hinder their approach just yet, understand?" The group nodded, though some looked displeased with the command. The leader smiled, a malicious light coming into his eyes, as he returned his gaze to the two below. The wind blew fresh snow about, his long, raven black hair billowing, revealing two delicately pointed ears and jet-black eyes that were alight with an inner fire.
Further down the slope, and still both unaware of the fact that they were being observed, Legolas and Aragorn continued their journey.
"Come Aragorn! We shall reach the top of this hill soon, and there is less snow there. You will be able to walk without assistance." Legolas stood above Aragorn as he struggled once more through the high snowdrifts.
"Good. I'm quite weary from all of this snow," Aragorn muttered wearily.
What they did not notice were the dark shapes slowly positioning themselves for an ambush on the intruders.
"You know what, Legolas? I can't believe we haven't seen a single living thing out here. You'd expect us to have run into something! Whether it is a bird or an orc, something must live here," Aragorn commented as he walked with welcomed ease through the thinning snow.
"And something does, ranger," a voice no louder than the wind around them said.
Both elf and human snapped their heads up and found themselves surrounded by eight people. Their long hair blew, revealing them to be elves.
"Who are you, and where do you hail from?" the dark haired elf, which must have been their leader, said harshly. His eyes, and the eyes of the others, were dark sheets of jet black obsidian as they glared down upon the trespassers. They also all sported darker shades of hair, either black or very dark brown.
Legolas and Aragorn straightened as best as they could, considering they were waist deep in snow. "We are just passing through, from Rivendell. We meant no harm," Legolas said firmly. He did not like these elves; something was odd about them.
"You best hurry! We do not enjoy company, and our Guardian and Prince do not take kindly to those who wander in our lands unbidden, so I suggest you leave this place and do not come back!" The lead elf snarled, and the other elves perked up at the thought of battle, should the pair refuse to leave.
Aragorn and Legolas backed off, then turned and fled. As they left hearing distance, the lead elf turned to three elves, barking orders as he did so,
"Teysrol, Savarre, and Sirithiliel. You three make sure they leave, and are a good distance away. Take some of the Companions with you, preferably your own."
The three elves gave emotionless nods and trotted off over the soft snow, emitting odd calls as they did. Their bonded Companions bounded to them with snarls of glee. The Companions were actually large wolves, bonded as young pups to one of the elves. They were intelligent and devoted entirely to those they were bonded with. The three elves who were chosen were some of the best assassins the Draconis elves had.
* ~*~*
"Aragorn, I think they are following us," Legolas stated, as he jogged down a snowy path. Aragorn sprinted slightly to catch up with the swift elf, raising a questioning eyebrow.
"And how do you know that?" he asked. Legolas stopped and looked around for a moment, before answering.
"Look behind us, you can see someone, or something following us. Let's tread carefully, I have a bad feeling about this," Legolas said tensely. Aragorn nodded and followed the elf prince.
*~*~*
Sirithiliel snapped her head up, and hissed angrily. Teysrol stopped what he was doing to look at her. "What is the problem?" He eyed her curiously. She was staring in one direction, a displeased expression on her face.
"My connection has broken. Tamulis must have broken it," she snarled, as she ran her hand over the hilts of her twin swords. Tamulis was her wolf, a particularly large and smart wolf, with black fur that matched her own very dark brown perfectly. "I'll have to figure out a different way to get them." She paused, considering their options. She scanned the area, then turned to her brothers, and smiled. "If you look over that rise, you will see lights. It could be a town or village. I think they would have gone there." With nods of agreement, they headed towards the town.
~*~*~*
It was lucky for Aragorn and Legolas that they encountered a small village on their way down the mountains towards Rivendell. A blizzard was approaching, and they needed shelter. A sign above a nice looking inn read the "Black Cat" with a perfect drawing of a black cat with golden eyes below it. "Odd name for an inn." Aragorn muttered to Legolas as they walked inside. Legolas, having no great knowledge of inns, just shrugged and followed the ranger in.
Noise assaulted the elf's keen ears, and he smelled ale and beer and other things as well. Aragorn went to the counter and requested a room from the dark haired and scarred bartender. The bar tender looked over him and Legolas, then pointed at the elf prince. "For the elf, it'll be two silvers. For you two coppers. We ain't had many elf kind in here, so they cost more to house." He wiped a filthy rag into an equally filthy mug, trying and failing to clean it. Aragorn was about to say something on the unfairness of that, but Legolas shook his head and Aragorn sighed and placed a gold piece on the counter. The bar tender picked it up and held it before his dark eyes, weighed it and tested it with a knife that miraculously appeared in his hands. Once he was satisfied that it was real and not a counterfeit, he waved them to the side door. "First room on your right, and for the spare change, if you wish for a mug of ale and cheese, we'll serve it." The bartender eyed them, counting out change and handing it to them. Aragorn took it, and handed some back. "Ale and some dinner would be nice." With those words the bartender nodded and pointed the dirty mug at the common room.
Conversations stalled for a moment as they walked in, then picked up again back to normal as the ranger and elf choose a table and sat down.
Over the din of the room, no one could eavesdrop on them, so they spent the time waiting for their drinks discussing the strange elves. "Something is really wrong with them. I get a dark feeling about them. Not evil, but not good either. I don't like what they said about the 'Guardian' or their prince. If there is a royal involved, it can't be good." Legolas was saying quietly as the drinks were brought to them with food.
Waiting until the servant left, Aragorn sipped his frothy ale without really tasting it. He agreed wholeheartedly with Legolas. As soon as the boy left, Legolas continued. "I am also wondering where they are from. It can't be Lothlorien, and it is certainly not Mirkwood or Rivendell. We will have to ask Elrond about it." Aragorn nodded in agreement then started on his dinner. "We should send a message to Elrond, in case those who were following us catch up before we get to Rivendell." Once more, Aragorn nodded. The rest of the evening was spent on a more cheerful note and they talked long of past adventures. Near midnight, they retired to their room. Aragorn wrote out a letter to his adoptive father describing the odd elves in the mountains, the feelings Legolas has about them, and where they were now. With a sigh, he gave it to the bartender with a copper, and the bartender nodded, motioned to a young boy, who immediately stood and left with the message. Heading back to the room, Aragorn thought of his two adoptive brothers, Elladan and Elrohir. They would be surprised and suspicious of these elves, of that he was sure.