Disclaimer: Er…don't own anything from M.E. But if you find something new it's probably mine.
A/N: Summary basically says everything. I wrote this a while ago before my extreme and ongoing case of writer's block. So cheers! ^-^ (Forgive me for the use of several modern names)
The Diamond of Iste
"Scarllet! Look! I'm an elf!" cried Ethuil as she raced across the top of the snow. She did a cartwheel just to show off her extraordinary elven lightness.
"Hey! Wait for me!" yelled Scarllet as her foot gave way and it sank into the deep snow bank. Cody, Cory, and Alex came panting up behind them. Their cheeks were flushed from running to keep up with the happy little elf.
As Ethuil started to skip on the crest of the snow she suddenly gave a sharp yelp and fell headlong into the frozen tundra. "Ethuil! What happened?" asked Cody as he ran up beside her.
Ethuil frowned and rubbed her ankle. "I tripped over something in the snow," she said and pointed to a sharp stick poking out of the snow.
Scarllet bent down to examine it. As she pulled it out she gave a gasp of surprise. She hadn't pulled out a stick at all. It was a gleaming silver arrow. Ethuil quickly sprang up from the ground.
"Maybe there's something else around here," Ethuil said and began to dig into the snow surrounding where the arrow had lain. As she dug, her hand hit something hard. Something hard…and warm. "Ack!" she gave a shriek of surprise as the thing she had hit started to move. "Hurry guys! Help me! There's something here!"
Cody, Scarllet, Alex, and Cory ran over to her side and all of them began to dig frantically. Slowly, a hand emerged from the snow, and then an arm. Before long they had almost finished digging the person out.
"Who is it?" asked Alex as they finally pulled out the body of a young man. His long blonde hair cascaded down his back and his face was half blue from being near frozen.
"Oh my gosh! It's an elf!" yelled Cory as he pointed to the man's pointed ears. "His ears look just like Ethuil's!"
Ethuil knelt beside the elvish man and examined his features and took his pulse. After a brief second she stood up gravely and said, "We need to get him warm. If we don't he might die."
Scarllet nodded her head and ran off to get some firewood as the rest of them dragged the half-frozen body to the shelter of some nearby trees. Soon they had a nice crackling fire going. After a while, the young man started to stir.
He cracked open a confused eyelid and look around. "Where am I?" he asked as he rubbed his head.
"You're at Snowcap Pass," replied Ethuil. "We found you in the snow."
The blonde elf took in the faces of his rescuers and slowly smiled. "Thank you for rescuing me," he smiled courteously. "There was an avalanche and the snow covered me up. It was packed so tightly I couldn't get out." He looked around, and spying his arrow and quiver laying by the fire, he snatched them up in one swift motion. "By the way, my name is Legolas."
"Legolas," Ethuil repeated the name softly. It sounded so familiar, but she couldn't figure out why. She shook the thought from her mind and smiled. "I'm Ethuil."
"I'm Cory."
"I'm Alex."
"I'm Scarllet."
"And I'm Cody."
Legolas laughed brightly. "How old are you guys anyway? You seem kind of young to be tromping around in the wild all by yourselves."
Scarllet scowled. "We're twelve," she replied defiantly. "We may not be that old but we can take care of ourselves."
"We're on our way to Rivendell," Cory said brightly. "We're going to see all of Ethuil's relatives!"
Legolas looked at the girl in question. "So you're an elf too," he mused quietly. Ethuil nodded her head and pulled back her light brown hair to reveal two pointed elf ears. Legolas slowly stood up from the ground and stretched. "Funny you should mention Rivendell," he stated. "I was heading that way myself before the avalanche came."
"That's really weird that there was an avalanche," Ethuil said. "There's usually barely any around here."
"I know," Legolas replied. "And I have a feeling that it didn't happen all on its own."
Suddenly something whizzed past them and a loud grunt was heard followed shortly by a thud in the soft snow. Cory reached up and grabbed his boomerang as it flew back into his hands. "There was an orc," he shrugged his shoulders. The company walked over behind a cluster of trees and found the orc lying unconscious on the ground.
Legolas listened sharply to their surroundings. "We better get out of here. I sense an army of them heading our way."
Soon, after quite a bit of running, the group ended up in Rivendell. Elrond greeted them kindly. "Hello, Legolas, Ethuil, and Ethuil's friends! Welcome to Rivendell. Home of the elves and the last homely home before the Misty Mountains."
Ethuil raced up to him and gave him a huge hug. "It's great to see you again, Uncle Elrond! I've missed you so much! Where's Arwen?" She looked around hoping to catch a glimpse of her wonderful cousin.
"She's off rescuing some hobbit named Frodo," replied Elrond. "His company was being chased by the Nine Ringwraiths. But don't worry. They'll be fine. I've watched the movie and it all works out in the end." He gave her a reassuring smile before turning to Legolas. "So what news do you bring this time?"
Legolas looked worried. "I've just received word that the Diamond of Iste has been captured by Sauron. It's being guarded by his orcs in the castle Ifrit." Elrond's eyebrows furrowed and he looked alarmed and worried.
Ethuil and her friends looked confused. "What's the Diamond of Iste?" she asked.
Elrond answered them, "Iste was the godmother of Isildur. She was one of the last great fairies to walk Middle-Earth. Anyways, Iste had a diamond that she wore in a necklace around her neck. It protected her from the evil and dark deeds of this world. Before she died, she poured her remaining magical powers into the diamond. The person who can activate the diamond's hidden power will unleash the magic of Iste. With it, they can gain great wisdom and powers unimaginable. I suppose Sauron is hoping to control its many powers."
"Wow," Cody breathed wondrously. "That sounds like an awesome diamond. Wish I had one!"
Elrond and Legolas laughed before becoming very serious again. "Legolas," Elrond laid a hand on the elf's shoulders, "you must get back the Diamond. If Sauron learns to use its magic, he will be unbeatable. So then even if Frodo throws the ring into Mount Doom, Sauron will not be destroyed."
Legolas gave him a confused look. "How do you know Frodo will be the ring-bearer?"
Elrond sighed. "It's in the movies, you fool!"
"Oh!" Legolas smiled sheepishly. "Ok, then." Legolas began to gather up his bow and arrows, Scarllet twirled her dagger in her hand, Alex was cleaning his teeth in the reflection off the side of his axe, Cody was examining his sword, Cory was playing with his boomerang, and Ethuil was off in the corner pretending to be Harry Potter as she played with her cousins Lithgalad and Vanariel.
Suddenly Elrond got an idea. "Hey!" he said to Legolas. "You should take Ethuil and her friends with you! It's about time they learned how to fight properly and this should be a good adventure for them."
Legolas frowned, "I don't know…"
"Oh, that'd be so cool!" Ethuil exclaimed and ran over to join the others. Scarllet, Alex, Cory, and Cody all agreed.
"Then it's settled," Elrond proclaimed. "You shall be the fellowship of the…er…well you're a fellowship and that's all that matters. Now take care of them, Legolas, and make sure you're back in time to join the fellowship to destroy the One Ring. You'll have a grand time in that group. There's Boromir, Aragorn, Merry, Pippin, Gandalf…"
"How do you know all this?" Legolas asked.
"It's in the movie."
"Oh."
The group set out at dawn and covered much ground. "Where is the castle Ifrit?" Ethuil asked.
"Just beyond Varigal," Legolas replied. "It will take two days journeying to reach it. And once we get there, anything could happen."
They crossed streams and mountains, hills and plains, by nightfall they stopped in a cool glen to regain their strength for the following days journey. Everyone was so tired they fell asleep within seconds. Sometime in the middle of the night, Ethuil woke up and looked around. She could've sworn she heard something. She listened again. A low braying came from nearby.
Ethuil slowly crept out of the clearing they had slept in and made her way to the sound. As she got closer, a steady babbling grew louder in her ear. Quite suddenly she stumbled out of the forest of trees and into a quiet opening with a clear waterfall rushing down into a sparkling lake below it. Her breath caught as she saw the most magnificent creature she had ever seen drinking from the crystal clear water of the lake. The horse lifted its head and considered the tiny elf for a moment before turning back down for another drink. The moonlight hit the horse just right so Ethuil could see it's white, glowing wings and golden, spiraled horn. It was like a Pegasus and a unicorn combined!
"You can come closer, you know," a voice suddenly spoke.
Ethuil looked around startled. "Who's there? Who are you?" she asked sounding frightened.
"I'm Eldarroh," the horse lifted its head and looked at the tiny girl. "And you are Ethuil. You are traveling with your brother and your friends." Ethuil gave her a surprised look. "I know a lot about you. You are traveling to the castle Ifrit. You seek the Diamond of Iste."
"How did you know?" Ethuil asked bewildered.
Eldarroh shrugged her shoulders. "I've been watching your company journey all day. It looked quite tiring walking all that way. It's a shame you don't have wings or else you could've flown. By the way, how is your brother? Haven't seen him since he was just a wee little elf."
Ethuil looked confused. "What are you talking about? I'm not traveling with my brother. Adarion is at home with my papa."
Eldarroh shook her head. "No, silly! The other one." Her chocolate brown eyes sparkled mischievously.
"But I don't have another one!" Ethuil tried to explain.
"Yes you do," Eldarroh shook her mane wildly. "But he had gone off to study with the elves of Mirkwood by the time you were born. He was very happy to finally see you after all these years. You could see it in his eyes."
Ethuil shook her head. "You're wrong. The only other elf in this company is Legolas." Eldarroh gave her a look. "Are you trying to tell me that Legolas is my older brother?! Why didn't anyone tell me before?!" Ethuil cried.
"Your mother always talked about an older son. Your trip to Rivendell was so you could meet your brother for the first time. That is why Elrond sent you on this quest. It was so you could get to know each other before Legolas is going to go away on his next adventure," Eldarroh explained.
Ethuil sank down gloomily. "When was he going to tell me?" she asked.
"Upon reaching the castle of Ifrit."
Ethuil looked about and saw the sun starting to shine over the crown of the trees. Her eyes widened. "I have to get back! Legolas said we were leaving at dawn."
Eldarroh walked along beside her. "I'm going with you. I know where the Diamond is hidden and I can provide with a fast escape."
Ethuil picked up her pace in hopes that she could talk to her newfound brother before they started journeying for the day. Upon reaching their campsite, she found Legolas cooking some bacon over a small fire. Scarllet, Cory, Alex, and Cody looked at her in wonder when she walked in with Eldarroh at her side.
She strode up to Legolas very quickly and glared at him. "When were you going to tell me?" she demanded.
"Tell you what?" Legolas asked innocently while looking curiously at Eldarroh.
"That you're my brother."
Legolas froze in mid-frying. "When we reached the castle," he sighed. "How did you find out?"
"I told her," the horse spoke.
Legolas's jaw dropped. "You can talk!"
"Of course I can!" Eldarroh replied. "My name is Eldarroh. No need bothering to introduce yourselves. I already know who all of you are. I've come to help you with your quest. I know where the Diamond is hidden in the castle. I know that is what you are searching for."
Legolas mouthed wordlessly. "Well what are you waiting for?" Eldarroh replied. "Let's get going."
Legolas grabbed Ethuil on the shoulder as the group started to head out. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. It wasn't supposed to be like this and there wasn't even supposed to be this stupid quest. I found out the Diamond was captured on my way to Rivendell."
"That's ok," Ethuil shook her head. "I forgive you." Legolas smiled at his sister and then both sprinted off to catch up with Eldarroh and the rest of Ethuil's friends.
Dark hills rose among them and the air grew darker with each step they took. After rounding one final hill the group stopped in wonder. "There it is," Legolas whispered. "The castle of Ifrit."
The castle loomed over them, writhed with the fire of a thousand suns. But the fire gave off no light to the surrounding ground. The castle was just shadow and flame. "They sometimes call it the Castle of Fire," Eldarroh stated. "The fire will only go out once Sauron is destroyed for good."
Ethuil breathed in wonder. She had never seen anything so menacing in her life. She looked at the castle and thought of all the corridors and twisting staircases that must run through it. She sure was glad Eldarroh was with them. Otherwise it could take them days alone just to find the Diamond.
Legolas drew his bowstring back. "I'll take out the orcs guarding the door and then we'll rush into the castle. 1…2…3!" Legolas let go of the arrow and it whizzed straight into the center of the orcs forehead. Scarllet, Cody, Cory, Alex, and Ethuil all took off for the entranceway as Legolas shot another arrow at the remaining guard. Eldarroh soared overhead as a shower of arrows rained down upon the rushing company. Ethuil was the first to reach the door but it wouldn't budge.
"Stand back!" Alex shouted and swung his axe at the door lock. The lock broke in two and the company proceeded into the entrance of the immense castle.
"Now where do we go?" Ethuil asked Eldarroh.
"To the left."
A siren sounded from within the castle, letting all the orcs know that there were intruders within their midst. The group raced down the corridors encountering only a few bands of orcs. Eldarroh gave directions frequently such as 'right' or 'left' or 'up the stairs.' Finally, after a long sprint up a narrow stairwell, Eldarroh stopped them saying, "Here it is. Behind this door is where they keep the Diamond of Iste."
Legolas turned the doorknob and gingerly kicked it open. His eyes widened in fear at the sight before him. Hundreds of orcs filled the large room, and in the center of it all was a jewel glowing brightly in the light coming off from the torches of fire that burned against the walls of the room. The orcs began snarling and swaying angrily almost as soon as Legolas had opened the door. There was a moment in which both sides seemed to be frozen in time and neither dared move. But soon the orcs began to charge. Legolas began shooting his arrows like crazy as Cody ran into the advancing army swinging his sword wildly. Alex was having a great time lobbing some orc heads off with his axe, Scarllet was trying to defend herself with her dagger, and Cory had somehow interested a small group of orcs by trying to teach them how to throw a boomerang properly.
Ethuil turned to grab her sword from her sheath when something caught her eye. Eldarroh's horn had started glowing and pulsing rapidly. As she continued to watch, the horn suddenly emitted an intense glow of light that went spiraling into the orc army and took out about three-dozen of them in the process. This amazing light show went on until barely any orcs remained. Those that were left were quickly finished off by the rest of the gang except for the orcs that Cory had managed to entertain with his boomerang. He made each of them their very own boomerang and sent them on their merry little way to practice outside the castle so they could get more distance with their throw. Once those had left there was nothing standing between them and the Diamond of Iste.
Legolas walked up slowly to the Diamond. It sparkled gratefully as if it knew it were about to be rescued from its imprisonment in the horrible castle. Everyone's breath caught as Legolas lifted the Diamond up and placed it in his knapsack. All at once, the walls of the castle started to shake and crumble.
"Aaaaahhhh!!!! The castle is falling down!!!" screamed Cody.
"Quick! On my back!" cried Eldarroh as she turned to face the open window.
"But how will we all fit?" Ethuil asked.
"You will. Trust me."
As soon as everyone had leapt on Eldarroh as quickly as they could, she took off through the window and into the open sky above. The castle quaked and crumbled behind them. Ethuil stole a look behind and saw the tower they had just exited fall and crumble hundreds of feet to the ground. Flaming stones fell to the ground everywhere as the castle continued to fall apart. But Eldarroh had already borne them off before they could finish watching it crumble.
Legolas and Ethuil walked up to Elrond together and placed the Diamond before him. Elrond merely glanced at their tired, dirt-streaked faces before embracing both in a tight hug. "I'm so glad both of you made it back safely," he sounded relieved. "And now I can enjoy you for who you are. Brother and sister!" Ethuil and Legolas smiled broadly as they glanced at each other. Meanwhile, several other elves were attending to Scarllet, Cory, Cody, and Alex and making sure they were comfortable and whatnot. Eldarroh brayed loudly outside.
Ethuil suddenly broke from the hug. "I forgot about Eldarroh!" she cried and ran from the room. Eldarroh smiled when she saw Ethuil coming. Ethuil ran up and threw her arms around Eldarroh's neck. "Oh, Eldarroh!" she sobbed. "Please don't go!"
Eldarroh nuzzled her head comfortingly. "Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere. I am yours now. I shall be with you always."
Ethuil looked up and wiped her tear-streaked face. "What do you mean? I don't understand."
"Our souls have been bonded, little one," Eldarroh smiled at the confused look on Ethuil's face. "I will always be yours to ride now. I will explain much to you later, but for now spend time with your brother. It won't be long before he shall have to leave again."
Ethuil nodded her head and walked off to find Legolas. Her new brother.
The EndA/N: Certain names were changed from the original version of this story and elven names put in their place. Here are the translations:
Ethuil- Spring (season)
Eldarroh- Elf-horse
Lithgalad- Light of ash
Vanariel- Fair/beautiful maidenAdarion- Son of father, "Father's son"
Lame, wasn't it? Oh well. Thanx for reading!