Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings or any of the characters I use in this story. This fanfiction was written for pure fun and no money was/is made with it.
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama/Angst
Summary: A simple hunting trip turns into a disaster as Elladan and Elrohir are attacked by orcs. With Elrohir being seriously hurt, their only chance lies now in the hands of Aragorn and Legolas....but will they meet in time? Main Characters: Elladan, Elrohir, Aragorn, and Legolas.
E-mail: kaeera@yahoo.de
Feedback: Always appreciated, and constructive criticism is very welcome.
Notes: Yay, my new story is up. Sorry for the long wait, but my life is keeping me busy...*sighs* Anyway, this story features the twins, although Aragorn and Legolas will appear as well. I have no idea how long it will be, or how it will turn out...figures. Uhm, and I'm reminding you once again that I'm German and no native speaker, that explains the mistakes you will discovere here and there. I'm trying to avoid them, but sometimes I simply cannot see the mistakes I make...*sighs*
Thanks to my beta for correcting this chapter! Well, now, enjoy, and don't forget to leave me a review!
Chapter One: Crimson Blood on White Snow
The forest was silent, the trees covered by a blanket of thick, glittering snow which softened every sound. No animal could be seen, for they had all hidden in their caves or various hiding places. A dim winter sun illuminated the scene with its weak, white light, hanging low in a blue sky. It was deepest winter, and fresh snow had just fallen over the woods around Imladris. However, the calm silence of the forest was disturbed by a most unlikely sound; two voices bickering with each other.
"Remind me once again why we're doing this?" Elladan snorted and continued to walk over the knee-high snow.
"Because Imladris was boring without Estel and Legolas around and because we needed a little bit of a distraction." Elrohir replied cheerfully. "A little hunting trip seemed to be just the right choice!"
"But not in the snow!" His brother grumbled. It was in the middle of winter and it hadn't stopped snowing this morning, covering everything in the forest with the white substance. "You won't find anything to hunt in that!"
"Well, I couldn't foresee that it would snow as soon as we left the halls of Imladris," Elrohir rolled his eyes. "And stop complaining; you are an elf, you shouldn't be bothered by snow!"
Elladan simply glared back and refused to answer. It was true, the two elves walked freely over the deep snow, not bothered by the cold and the biting wind, but there was nothing to do in this forest, because every living creature was either hiding or had moved into warmer regions. Quite frankly, the two brothers seemed to be the only creatures moving in a two-miles radius.
Elrohir snorted at the gloomy face of his brother, a small smile playing around his lips. Unnoticed by his brother, he fell a few steps back and kneeled on the ground, taking a little bit of snow in his hands and forming a ball. His eyes twinkling mischievously, the younger elf called to his brother. "Elladan?"
Rather annoyed, Elladan turned around. "Wha...?" His questions was immediately silenced by a snowball hitting him right into the face. Elrohir burst out laughing at the shocked expression on his brother's face.
"You...." The twin spat out the snow and glared daggers at the laughing elf.
"I really got you this time, huh?" Elrohir wiped a few tears of laughter away. "How embarrassing, I caught you quite off guard! Wait until I tell the others in Rivendell about this, they will never stop laugh....whoa!" Another snowball flew through the air, this time aimed at Elrohir, who just barely ducked out of the way. "Ha! Missed! I - mpf!"
"If the first one doesn't hit, then the second one will," Elladan said satisfied, holding another snowball in his hand and grinning at his brother, who was gagging at the cold snow which had (rather forcefully) entered his mouth.
Impish smiles appeared on both faces, and soon they were involved in an heated snowball fight, the white balls shooting over the small clearing with incredible speed. Laughter filled the air, the only sound audible for miles. If one had seen the two dark-haired elves, one wouldn't have believed that they were about 2,800 years old - they merely resembled little children who were out in the snow for the first time.
"Who said that it was boring?" Elrohir grinned, snow sticking everywhere in his long hair.
"Well, it was!" Elladan gathered more snow in his arms, trying to form a giant snowball with the firm intention to smash it over his brother's head.
"Oh, really," his twin chuckled, recognizing his intention (for he had often tried it himself), formed a small snowball on his own, aiming at Elladan.
"Yes, really!" Elladan's snowball was finished and nearly as big as his own head. He gathered it in both arms and lunged forward, ready to throw it at his younger brother. However, the elf knew what was coming and threw his own small snowball right into the Elladan's face. Thrown backwards by the force and losing his balance, he stumbled and the snowball fell out of his hands - right on his head.
Elrohir once more couldn't stop laughing as he saw his brother, whole upper body covered in snow and wearing a look of utter bewilderment on his face. He fell to the ground, unable to stop himself from chuckling, as Elladan growled and wiped the snow out of his hair. The older twin made as though to brush the cold, wet substance off himself and instead gathered it in his hands, turning to dump it down Elrohir's tunic.
The elf immediately stopped laughing. "Ewww," he made, as the icy cold snow slid down his back. "That was not fair, Elladan!" He tried to gather the snow, which now slowly melted inside his tunic, but failed miserably.
"Your own fault," Elladan shrugged, "You started this after all!" But he couldn't suppress his grin. "I would say that's enough for today."
His brother sighed and picked himself up from the snow. "I haven't had that much fun since Estel left for Mirkwood with Legolas," he admitted somewhat sadly. "Nothing happens here when those two are away! They've stayed in Mirkwood pretty long this time..."
Elladan brushed the snow from his clothes. "Yeah, but when they *are* here, you can be pretty sure that they will be involved in another murderous adventure, worrying us to death. Or they would probably get us involved, too, and Ada would have all four of us to worry about!"
The twin shrugged. "Come on, let's continue our path, for I want to reach a safe resting place soon."
They both started walking again, this time in a lighter mood.
**********
Seemingly for no reason, Elrohir stopped in his tracks and turned around. "Did you hear that?" he asked his brother, frowning slightly.
"What?"
"That noise. Like someone walking through the snow."
The older twin listened closer. "No, I hear nothing, just the sound of..." He stopped, a look of intense concentration on his face. "Wait, there's something, but very far away..." They exchanged a worried look.
"You're not thinking what I am, are you?" Elrohir asked slowly, worry creeping in his face.
"Orcs?" Elladan shook his head. "As far as I know, they normally don't cross this area, especially not in the snow." He looked on the ground. Although the snow wasn't very deep - only a few inches, barely enough to cover one's shoe - they both knew that the orcs didn't have the swift ability of elves to walk over the snow without sinking into it. Even this small amount would be a hindrance, and the sky showed that there would be more snow in the future.
"But there's definitely somebody out there, and I don't believe that humans come this far," Elrohir insisted. "We should be careful and head in the opposite direction!"
His brother shrugged. "As you wish. It could just as well be an animal, a big bear or something, but one way is as good as another. Besides," he looked up at the sky. "It would be better to find a shelter, for it looks as though it may start snowing again soon. Although I'm relatively immune from the cold, I don't want cold, wet snow in my hair! Again!" He sent a pointed look at the younger elf, but Elrohir didn't seem to notice.
"Don't act so grumpy," he grinned. "You liked it as much as I did! I saw it in your eyes!"
Elladan shoved a strand of loose hair behind his ear and chose to ignore that particular comment. Instead he glanced suspiciously at their surroundings. If he had believed it to be possible, he would have said that the forest was calmer than before. However, since there hadn't been any noise *before*, that seemed kind of illogical....still, somehow the mood had changed, was somewhat darker, like a shadow hanging over the place. Elladan didn't like this and realized that Elrohir probably hadn't been that wrong after all. Only orcs could cause such a feeling of unease in elves.
He wanted to open his mouth and say something, just as a loud shout interrupted the peaceful calm of the wood. They both spun around, eyes widening in alarm.
"Yrch!" Elrohir spat out, his handsome face distorted with hate and worry.
"How did they come this close?" Elladan hissed, as he saw the shadows only a few hundred meters away. The two elves quickly took their bows.
"I have no idea. We should better try to get out of here; I fear they are too many, even for us two!" his brother glanced worriedly at the wild creatures which stormed directly towards them.
With a single nod, his twin agreed and the elves spun around, jumping into the trees. Moving on the snow-covered branches was difficult, but not impossible for the two elves, and they quickly raced away from the horde of orcs.
However, they didn't go far, before a few arrows hit the trees, barely missing Elladan's back, and in horror the sons of Elrond saw the three orcs standing in their path. "They've surrounded us!" Elrohir couldn't believe it.
"Then we must fight," Elladan said between gritted teeth, not liking this idea, for they were only two and the orcs were many, but he saw no other possibility. The twin brothers exchanged a quick look and then simultaneously drew their bows and took aim. The sound of the string being drawn was barely audible with all the screaming and grunting of the orcs, but the arrows hit their marks and two creatures fell to the ground, elven arrows protruding from their chests.
Being high above the ground gave the elves a slight advantage, which they used formidably. They fired arrow after arrow, felling several orcs. But the creatures retreated as soon as they noticed this, now taking their own bows and firing at the elves. Elladan yelped both in pain and surprise as a black arrow struck his arm, throwing him off balance. He tumbled backwards, for a moment hanging between the branches of the tree and the ground, but then he fell, landing with a soft 'thud' on the ground.
Realizing that this was their chance, the orcs converged on the elf. "Elladan!" Elrohir cried in fear, and jumped down, unwilling to let his brother face this danger alone.
The dark haired elf had just gotten up, clutching his arm. Warm blood was already soaking through his clothes, dropping on the ground and leaving scarlet stains in the white snow.
"It's just a scratch," he pressed out, drawing his sword, knowing that their bows were useless when the orcs were so near. Elrohir nodded, relieved that his brother hadn't been injured further, and did the same. Standing back to back, the two elves awaited their enemies, a fierce expression of determination on the identical faces.
***********
"Snow, why does it have to snow?" Aragorn complained, as he rode on his horse through the forest. He clutched his tunic tighter around him and glared at his elven companion, who seemed totally oblivious to the cold.
"That's what usually happens in winter," Legolas smirked and steered his horse through the snow. "It was just bad luck that we two were outside when it started."
"Bad luck, hah!" the ranger grumbled. "I bet it was fate once again, knowing that I, unlike some certain elves, am not immune to the cold!"
"We are not immune, we are only more resistant than you humans," the blonde elf explained mildly, silently finding this whole situation amusing.
The two friends had decided to travel to Rivendell once again, after staying at Legolas' home for over three months. Unfortunately they hadn't expected the sudden weather change and it had caught them off guard. However, they weren't totally unprepared, for they both had their individual experiences with unexpected accidents in the wilderness. Aragorn was wearing his extra set of clothes, which helped to protect him from the cold.
Their progress, however, was slow, since the two horses sank deeply into the snow, as Aragorn would have, not possessing the elvish ability to walk over it. Still, the human was glad that they had chosen to ride instead of walk, because he had no intention of walking in the snow himself - it was cold, he would get wet and certainly catch a cold which he certainly didn't want.
"Enjoy the beautiful sight, Strider," Legolas pointed to the snow covered branches of the trees high above them. He grinned, knowing exactly that his friend would definitely not enjoy this while he was freezing.
"Haha," Aragorn said tonelessly, looking up at the aforementioned branches. It was probably his luck (or fate with her rather twisted sort of humor) that caused the branch to shake exactly when Aragorn was under it. If it was the wind or something else, neither could say - fact was that all the snow which had collected on the tiny branches decided to fall directly on the ranger's head.
"Hey!" the human shouted, quickly ducking away, but it was too late, for he was already covered with the white material, his former dark brown hair now colored white. "Great, just what I needed!" he groaned, while Legolas started laughing.
He just shot a dark glare towards the elf and rode a little bit faster, trying to get out of the reach of the nasty branches. Since they were in the middle of the forest, this seemed like an impossible quest.
Sometimes it was really annoying to travel with elves, who always seemed to have all the advantages. They healed faster, they were (nearly) immune to the cold, they never became sick and they could walk *over* this stupid snow instead of sinking knee-deep into it.
If he had been at home in Imladris, he would have enjoyed the weather change. But there he could always go into the warm interior if it was cold, and he couldn't do that out here in the woods. The only way to warm his frozen hands was to put them in his pockets.
Aragorn sighed and shook his head, trying to get the snow out of his hair before it melted and ran down his neck. He knew how uncomfortable that would be.
"Stop laughing!" he started to become irritated with his blonde friend.
Legolas immediately stopped. "I'm sorry, Estel...it was just a hilarious sight to see you like that."
"Yeah, well, I would have found it hilarious too - if it had happened to you!" Aragorn sighed in frustration.
"Oh, come on, don't brood," the elf smiled, "We will be in Imladris the day after tomorrow, you should be able to survive that long. As long as we search for a good hiding place for the night, light a fire, and as long as you use your warm clothing, we will be fine. I bet that you won't even catch a cold in this!" He pondered shortly. "But then again, you managed to catch a cold while it was raining, so I shouldn't be so certain."
Aragorn laughed, his irritation disappearing into nothingness. "You are right, as long as I keep myself warm and don't get wet, I won't become sick. I do not want to want to be ill again - the last time was enough." He sighed. "It's just annoying that I always have to think of that while you don't have to bother with it. Otherwise I would have started a snowball-fight long time ago, but I don't want to get wet."
"Well, you will have enough time for that when we are in Rivendell," Legolas promised and raised an eyebrow. "Although I wonder what your brothers would say about that..."
"They will probably join the fight with all their mischievous minds. They love the snow, Legolas, you should have seen them when I was little! I always believed that they didn't want to go out because they wanted to play with me, but just because they had an excuse to play in the snow. Never mind what it was, as long as it had something to do with snow, they were into it. Ada always shook his head, able to believe that his sons were nearly 2800 years old when he watched them." Aragorn started to grin at this, remembering the many adventures he had had with his brothers in the short periods of snow in Imladris.
"I can imagine," Legolas shook his head, amused.
"Still....snow is a lot better when you have a warm home to return to!" Aragorn clarified. "At least when you are human!"
"Are you freezing very much?" his friend wanted to know, suddenly becoming worried.
"No, actually not very much," the ranger admitted, "Just my fingers and my nose. I *hate* it when my fingers are cold and numb!"
"Well, put them in your pockets!"
"I'm trying to do that, but I need them to guide my horse every time she traps over a tree root." The human laid his hands on the horse's warm back. The two dark horses didn't seem to be affected by the cold, because they had a thick coat- unlike Aragorn.
"But this weather chance really came as a surprise," he then said, changing the topic.
Legolas glanced at his friend. "Yes. It's not very often that it snows this suddenly when it was relatively warm before. And usually it doesn't snow this early, either. It's rather strange."
"It's just our incredible *luck*," Aragorn muttered, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. The young human had made a running joke out of the fact that he and Legolas always stumbled from one misadventure into the next. He couldn't remember the number of the times that they had reached Rivendell with at least one of them injured. As Lord Elrond had stated once, they seemed to attract trouble like no one else. And not even the twins could match them, although they came pretty close.
"Maybe, maybe not," Legolas said with the patience all elves possessed- and which could cause a normal human being to crawl up trees in annoyance.
"Duh, I'm hungry," Aragorn stated after a while of silence between the two. This came so unexpected that the elf had to grin.
"Do you only think of your stomach, *human*?" he questioned, already halting his horse, as a quick rest would do them both good.
"Unlike some certain elves, I need to eat in order to stay warm," the ranger replied in the same tone, his eyes twinkling with amusement. He stopped and jumped down in the snow. Immediately he sank into the soft material till his knees were covered. Glaring at the elf, who dismounted his horse far more easily and stood now at least half a meter taller than him on the surface of the snow, he went to grab his bags, retrieving their food supplies.
Legolas patted his own horse on the back, watching how the breath of the animal formed a white cloud in the cold winter air. Then he looked up at the sky and frowned. "It looks as if the weather is becoming worse," he noted, watching the gray clouds moving slowly over the dim winter sky.
"Just what we needed," Aragorn replied busily, searching through his bags. Then he looked up as well. "Damn. I hope we won't get into a snow storm, that would be rather unpleasant!"
"True. We should find a shelter before it starts," his friend suggested.
Aragorn just stared at the sky in silence for some minutes, then reluctantly agreed. "I guess you are right. No break then." He looked sadly at the food in his hands and put it back into the bag. "I bet not even orcs travel in this weather. We're probably the only ones stupid enough to travel out here!"
*************
The clashing of swords was the only sound in the emptiness of the woods, echoing through the silence, scaring every creature away. The numbers of the orcs were great, but many were already lying on the ground, seriously wounded or dead, their blood staining the white snow with its dark color.
His breathing came in sharp, shallow gasps as he dashed his sword into the bodies of his enemies, again, and again! He didn't make a sound, but the orcs screamed, growled and attacked him with the wild force of mad beasts. The elf tried his best, but he was growing tired, for the battle had lasted quite a while now.
Snow started to fall from the gray, cloud-covered sky and he knew that it wouldn't be long until total darkness surrounded them. It wasn't the best time to be attacked, but then again, it never was. Nothing had gone as they had expected on this little hunting trip, for it had been calm around the borders of Imladris this winter.
A sudden attack of an orc from behind threw him off guard, and he quickly jumped away, dodging the blow of the monstrous blade with his own sword. The weapons smashed against each other and the force of the blow made him wince in pain.
For a brief moment the orc stared at him, yellow eyes raging with fury. The elf stepped backwards, never letting his guard drop, and prepared for the final blow. A sudden scream, a fast movement, someone yelling his name...
What was that?
The eyes of the orc widened as the sword tore through his heart, dark blood spilling on the ground. Letting out a final grunt, he slumped forward and the last ounce of life left his body. With a relieved sigh, the elf warrior went to pull his sword out of the corpse when something alerted his keen senses.
He wanted to jump back and out of danger, but he never managed it. A powerful blow suddenly struck the right side of his head, and his vision swam as pain raced through his body. His knees wouldn't support his weight anymore and he slowly felt himself tumbling to the ground, unable to stop his fall.
He let out a cry of agony, the pain immense. Red spots appeared in front of
his eyes as he desperately tried to stay conscious; it would be his certain
death if he collapsed during this battle.
Warm liquid was running down his face as he fell on his knees, and he felt his awareness was fleeing from him. His eyelids dropped as unconsciousness caught him in its dark embrace and pulled him away from awareness.
He could hear the battle cries, the footsteps on the snow covered ground, and strangest of all, his name being called.
"Elrohir!"
He could hear the fear in his twin's voice, but his cloudy mind couldn't understand rhyme nor reason for it. Elrohir wanted to answer, but he couldn't move his lips, couldn't do anything - his body wouldn't obey his commands...he collapsed forward, landing face first in the cold snow, and mutely watched as his blood colored the white ice crystals to a deep red. Pain ran through his body like fire.
Then his eyes closed and he knew no more.
Elladan watched in horror as his brother fell, unable to prevent it from happening. They had slain nearly all the orcs, but an especially big one had felled his brother, smashing his big fist into the elf's head. Now he was towering over Elrohir's lifeless form, preparing for his last attack.
"No!" Elladan shouted, ignoring his own attackers and jumping forward. He wouldn't watch his brother die, no, he certainly wouldn't! Screaming in rage, the dark haired elf lifted his sword, aiming at the foul creature. Surprised by this new attacker, the orc grunted and tried to turn around, but he never managed it - before he even knew what had happened, the sword pierced his heart, killing him on an instant. The orc slumped to the ground, nearly falling on top of Elrohir.
The two remaining orcs decided that they stood no chance against the tall elf and ran away. But Elladan wouldn't let them escape; as quickly as he could he grabbed his bow and sent two arrows flying in their direction. They hit their marks with deadly precision, and two more bodies slumped to the ground. Silence filled the forest once again, the only person awake and by his senses being Elladan.
He lowered his sword, breathing hard, and turned to his twin. "Elrohir?" he softly called, but no response came from the lifeless body. He felt fear clutch his heart with icy fingers and quickly walked over to his brother.
Elrohir was lying with his face in the snow and Elladan could see the blood flowing freely from his forehead, coloring the snow a deep crimson red. "Elrohir!" he prodded, falling down on his knees. "You can't do this to me...come on, Elrohir, wake up...."
But Elrohir didn't reply, remaining unconscious. The only sound in the silence of the forest was the howling wind, sneaking through the trees and throwing the snow from the branches....
To be continued....
*hides somewhere* I know, evil cliffhanger...please don't kill me! You need me to continue writing....*sneaks away*
Maybe I can write faster if you give me a few reviews *hinthint*.....*g*