Elrond had rushed to Mirkwood the instant he had heard of his sons'
injuries. He feared that perhaps it was already too late. He hadn't
received any detail as to the nature of the injuries, just that he was
needed immediately. The sense of urgency hadn't left when he had entered
Mirkwood, and it only grew when he arrived in Eryn Lasgalen. Thranduil
somberly made his way across the courtyard to meet the Elven lord.
"Elrond." He said quietly.
"Thranduil." Elrond replied. There was a certain dislike between the two rulers. Thranduil was much too commanding for Elrond. Thranduil in return had disagreed with joining the Alliance against Sauron. Mirkwood had sustained great losses and the grudge had never been fully dropped. "How are they?"
"Their conditions have not improved since we sent the messenger to you." Thranduil said. "Elrohir received a severe concussion. It broke his skull." Thranduil was speaking very quietly and had not once said anything remotely scathing to Elrond. This was not like him at all.
"What else has happened?" Elrond questioned.
"Strider was also very badly injured. He has not woken either." Elrond closed his eyes.
"Who did this?"
"We believe it was a guard and a friend of Legolas', Harim."
Elladan stalked the room his room. His father had arrived but refused to allow his eldest son to question Harim with him. This annoyed Elladan to no end. His father had said he needed to rest, but he couldn't possibly sleep while his friend and brothers were in such a condition. A servant knocked tentatively on his door.
"Yes?" He snapped impatiently. He immediately regretted his tone. "I'm sorry," he started.
"No, don't worry; you have reason to be irritable, what with everything going on and all. I just have to say I am surprised that you didn't go with Lord Elrond." She said, still tentatively. "I'm Meriath. If you need anything, just call." She said, and with that left the tea she had brought and exited the room. Elladan sipped the tea thoughtfully and before long was sound asleep.
"I'm assuming he drank it, Meriath?" Elrynd asked.
"Yes, he's asleep." The young elven maiden replied.
"Good. Lord Elrond himself asked that I send something to put him under. He really has been too stressed lately. Unfortunately, his father seems to be the only one able to get around his determination." He finished with a sigh. "Thank you Meriath. You can continue with your duties." As Meriath moved off, Elrynd sighed and shook his head. These happenings were beyond his ability to reckon. He shook his head again, but this time to shake himself out of his current state of thoughts. Dinner was quickly approaching.
Harim groaned softly. There had been extensive questioning when he had woken up. The only problem was that he could not remember a thing. Not even his name. He looked around the room he was in. It was small, bare. Probably a cell in the dungeons, he thought. He sat up and his eyes widened slightly. Dungeons? Where had that come from? Maybe he shouldn't try so hard to remember. The door was swung open. He let his head thud against the wall. Not again. No more questions. They had always come demanding answers he didn't have to questions he did not understand. This time all of the same elves were there, but there was a new one among them. This elf had dark hair; he seemed sad, much like the other elf that had been questioning him. He did not know what had happened, just that a group of people had been hurt. The questioning started immediately.
"Why did you do this to them?" The blond elf asked.
"Do what?" He asked, confused. The first elf turned to the dark- haired elf.
"This is what we have been getting every time. He claims to have no idea what we are talking about, but the evidence still points to him." He said, exasperation coloring his tone. Now he had something else to add to his list of things he knew. They thought he was guilty.
Ardain snarled. They weren't supposed to find them, not that early. That had ruined his plan. He had been counting on the fact Thranduil would keep searching for Harim, but somehow... Somehow that idiot prince had cried out. If he ever got his hands on Legolas... But that wasn't likely. There were so many guards on the prince there was no chance of harming him. He continued pacing, much like a caged cat. A very angry caged cat. The first chance he got, he would pounce. He would take Harim first. He was the biggest threat, if that fool of a guard remembered anything; it would be over for him. Access would be fairly easy; he could claim to just be checking on the traitor and... and what? He couldn't simply stab him. It would be fairly obvious; somehow the traitor was miraculously killed when nobody but Ardain had gone in? No. It was much more complicated. He would have to do something to distract them. He grinned evilly as the plan began to take shape in his mind.
"Oh yes, this will be nice!" He cackled to himself.
Elrond smiled in spite of himself. Elladan slept deeply in a chair across the room. He crossed the room and picked up a blanket. He frowned slightly after a closer inspection of his eldest. He could see what he had missed in his haste when he had first arrived. Elladan had obviously had little or no sleep for some time now. Elrond shook his head sadly. While Elrohir was unconscious, Elladan was driving himself to malnutrition. He was jolted out of these thoughts as Elladan began stirring and murmuring. He gently stroked his son's hair, and suddenly Elladan's eyes focused on his father.
"Ada?" He could hear the exhaustion in the younger elf's voice.
"Yes?"
"Why do you insist on not letting me stay awake?"
"I have a problem with you insisting on not sleeping." He answered, tilting his head slightly. A sleepy smile crossed Elladan's face. It quickly faded as his worries returned. Elrond noticed the change immediately.
"Rest my son, you are exhausted."
"Ada," He said as he struggled to fight off the sedatives in his system, "I can't sit by when Estel and everyone..." He faded out.
"You can do them no good if you can't concentrate, which I am willing to put a bet on it that you can't." Elrond picked up on his son's hesitation. "You need rest, trust me, I won't keep you out any longer than I have to." He assured his son.
"Arwen... Is she alright?" He said, suddenly realizing that the news had indeed reached Rivendell.
"She's fine. She had a few things to finish up, and then she will be coming here as well. I expect her by the end of the week." Elladan sighed and fell back against the chair. He tried to rub a crick out of his neck that had developed as a direct result of sleeping in the chair. "Come on." His father said and helped him up.
"What?" He asked. The fog hadn't quite cleared from his mind yet.
"That particular sedative won't be out of your system for some time. I figure we might as well get you somewhere more comfortable while you are awake." He said smiling slightly. Elladan stumbled to the bed and collapsed onto it. He felt the drugs in his system begin to steal consciousness from him again. "Sleep." He said soothingly.
"Ada?" He murmured as he drifted off.
"Yes, Elladan?" He asked.
"I'm glad you're here..." His voice faded out. The emotional stress that the young elf had gone through was finally taking its toll. It was a huge relief to have his father there.
"Yes, I'm glad I can help here." He answered quietly, but Elladan was already asleep.
Thranduil buried his face in his hands. Legolas was still lying prone on the bed. He took a deep shuddering breath, trying desperately to gather what shreds of integrity he had left. A traitor had nearly, and quite possibly could still; kill his son underneath his very nose. A short sob forced its way out of his throat. He started as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Lord Elrond looking compassionately down at him. He sighed and turned back to his son's unconscious form. With the blankets covering the most grievous of his wounds, Legolas looked to be in a deep peaceful sleep, except for the undeniable fact that his eyes were closed.
"He will awaken." Elrond said quietly.
"And how is it you can guarantee that?" He said snappishly. His thoughts remained irrevocably with his son.
"He has lived for this long, and Legolas' is not an easy will to defeat, I believe that if Illuvatar had meant for him to depart, he would have already done so." Elrond answered, knowing only too well what Thranduil was going through. Thranduil sighed and nodded, seeing the sense behind those words, and feeling the smallest thread of hope inside him. He couldn't give up now, not when Legolas needed him most.
"I must apologize, Elrond." He started.
"For what?" Elrond asked, puzzled.
"For bringing this tragedy into your life. We should have had this traitor weeks ago. For some reason, he seems to be one step ahead of us." Thranduil said.
"You do not believe that Harim did this then?" Elrond said, picking up on the meaning of those words.
"Elladan does not believe so either... Speaking of which, where is he?" Thranduil realized that he had not seen the younger elf in some hours. Elrond chuckled, a rueful sound, but a chuckle all the same.
"Elrynd helped me by serving him some tea..." Elrond faded out. A slight smile crossed Thranduil's face. Of course Elrond would immediately see his son's exhaustion and remedy it.
"Do you have any leads as to who else it could be?" Elrond asked.
"No, but perhaps Elladan has thought of something..." Elrond faded out, seeing for the first time something so simple, so completely obvious, he nearly smacked himself.
"What is it?" Elrond said, seeing that Thranduil was onto something.
"They knew," He started, "they knew that Harim hadn't done it. Elrohir was almost positive that it wasn't him. Aragorn had just told Harim that he thought he had a new lead. Harim was just a pawn, he was meant to take the fall." His words came quicker as the ideas formed.
"Are you sure?" Elrond asked skeptically, but a glimmer of hope shown in his eyes.
"Yes." Thranduil answered, in such a definite way, that there was no questioning it. He began to call for Ardain, but stopped. He thought for a moment. He didn't want to involve anybody else. If whoever was doing this realized they were onto him. Or her. He added silently. "Perhaps we should try to keep this quiet. Elladan should be the only other who knows." Thranduil said to Elrond. Elrond agreed.
"It seems sharing ideas is what got us into this mess." Elrond said thoughtfully. "I should go check on Elladan." Elrond said. He hesitated before leaving. "Thranduil," He paused, getting the Elven king's attention. "Don't forget about what I said. He will recover. Trust in Illuvatar. He will keep your son safe." With that he left. Thranduil sighed. Yes, he must, he knew. If not, how could he go on?
"Elrond." He said quietly.
"Thranduil." Elrond replied. There was a certain dislike between the two rulers. Thranduil was much too commanding for Elrond. Thranduil in return had disagreed with joining the Alliance against Sauron. Mirkwood had sustained great losses and the grudge had never been fully dropped. "How are they?"
"Their conditions have not improved since we sent the messenger to you." Thranduil said. "Elrohir received a severe concussion. It broke his skull." Thranduil was speaking very quietly and had not once said anything remotely scathing to Elrond. This was not like him at all.
"What else has happened?" Elrond questioned.
"Strider was also very badly injured. He has not woken either." Elrond closed his eyes.
"Who did this?"
"We believe it was a guard and a friend of Legolas', Harim."
Elladan stalked the room his room. His father had arrived but refused to allow his eldest son to question Harim with him. This annoyed Elladan to no end. His father had said he needed to rest, but he couldn't possibly sleep while his friend and brothers were in such a condition. A servant knocked tentatively on his door.
"Yes?" He snapped impatiently. He immediately regretted his tone. "I'm sorry," he started.
"No, don't worry; you have reason to be irritable, what with everything going on and all. I just have to say I am surprised that you didn't go with Lord Elrond." She said, still tentatively. "I'm Meriath. If you need anything, just call." She said, and with that left the tea she had brought and exited the room. Elladan sipped the tea thoughtfully and before long was sound asleep.
"I'm assuming he drank it, Meriath?" Elrynd asked.
"Yes, he's asleep." The young elven maiden replied.
"Good. Lord Elrond himself asked that I send something to put him under. He really has been too stressed lately. Unfortunately, his father seems to be the only one able to get around his determination." He finished with a sigh. "Thank you Meriath. You can continue with your duties." As Meriath moved off, Elrynd sighed and shook his head. These happenings were beyond his ability to reckon. He shook his head again, but this time to shake himself out of his current state of thoughts. Dinner was quickly approaching.
Harim groaned softly. There had been extensive questioning when he had woken up. The only problem was that he could not remember a thing. Not even his name. He looked around the room he was in. It was small, bare. Probably a cell in the dungeons, he thought. He sat up and his eyes widened slightly. Dungeons? Where had that come from? Maybe he shouldn't try so hard to remember. The door was swung open. He let his head thud against the wall. Not again. No more questions. They had always come demanding answers he didn't have to questions he did not understand. This time all of the same elves were there, but there was a new one among them. This elf had dark hair; he seemed sad, much like the other elf that had been questioning him. He did not know what had happened, just that a group of people had been hurt. The questioning started immediately.
"Why did you do this to them?" The blond elf asked.
"Do what?" He asked, confused. The first elf turned to the dark- haired elf.
"This is what we have been getting every time. He claims to have no idea what we are talking about, but the evidence still points to him." He said, exasperation coloring his tone. Now he had something else to add to his list of things he knew. They thought he was guilty.
Ardain snarled. They weren't supposed to find them, not that early. That had ruined his plan. He had been counting on the fact Thranduil would keep searching for Harim, but somehow... Somehow that idiot prince had cried out. If he ever got his hands on Legolas... But that wasn't likely. There were so many guards on the prince there was no chance of harming him. He continued pacing, much like a caged cat. A very angry caged cat. The first chance he got, he would pounce. He would take Harim first. He was the biggest threat, if that fool of a guard remembered anything; it would be over for him. Access would be fairly easy; he could claim to just be checking on the traitor and... and what? He couldn't simply stab him. It would be fairly obvious; somehow the traitor was miraculously killed when nobody but Ardain had gone in? No. It was much more complicated. He would have to do something to distract them. He grinned evilly as the plan began to take shape in his mind.
"Oh yes, this will be nice!" He cackled to himself.
Elrond smiled in spite of himself. Elladan slept deeply in a chair across the room. He crossed the room and picked up a blanket. He frowned slightly after a closer inspection of his eldest. He could see what he had missed in his haste when he had first arrived. Elladan had obviously had little or no sleep for some time now. Elrond shook his head sadly. While Elrohir was unconscious, Elladan was driving himself to malnutrition. He was jolted out of these thoughts as Elladan began stirring and murmuring. He gently stroked his son's hair, and suddenly Elladan's eyes focused on his father.
"Ada?" He could hear the exhaustion in the younger elf's voice.
"Yes?"
"Why do you insist on not letting me stay awake?"
"I have a problem with you insisting on not sleeping." He answered, tilting his head slightly. A sleepy smile crossed Elladan's face. It quickly faded as his worries returned. Elrond noticed the change immediately.
"Rest my son, you are exhausted."
"Ada," He said as he struggled to fight off the sedatives in his system, "I can't sit by when Estel and everyone..." He faded out.
"You can do them no good if you can't concentrate, which I am willing to put a bet on it that you can't." Elrond picked up on his son's hesitation. "You need rest, trust me, I won't keep you out any longer than I have to." He assured his son.
"Arwen... Is she alright?" He said, suddenly realizing that the news had indeed reached Rivendell.
"She's fine. She had a few things to finish up, and then she will be coming here as well. I expect her by the end of the week." Elladan sighed and fell back against the chair. He tried to rub a crick out of his neck that had developed as a direct result of sleeping in the chair. "Come on." His father said and helped him up.
"What?" He asked. The fog hadn't quite cleared from his mind yet.
"That particular sedative won't be out of your system for some time. I figure we might as well get you somewhere more comfortable while you are awake." He said smiling slightly. Elladan stumbled to the bed and collapsed onto it. He felt the drugs in his system begin to steal consciousness from him again. "Sleep." He said soothingly.
"Ada?" He murmured as he drifted off.
"Yes, Elladan?" He asked.
"I'm glad you're here..." His voice faded out. The emotional stress that the young elf had gone through was finally taking its toll. It was a huge relief to have his father there.
"Yes, I'm glad I can help here." He answered quietly, but Elladan was already asleep.
Thranduil buried his face in his hands. Legolas was still lying prone on the bed. He took a deep shuddering breath, trying desperately to gather what shreds of integrity he had left. A traitor had nearly, and quite possibly could still; kill his son underneath his very nose. A short sob forced its way out of his throat. He started as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Lord Elrond looking compassionately down at him. He sighed and turned back to his son's unconscious form. With the blankets covering the most grievous of his wounds, Legolas looked to be in a deep peaceful sleep, except for the undeniable fact that his eyes were closed.
"He will awaken." Elrond said quietly.
"And how is it you can guarantee that?" He said snappishly. His thoughts remained irrevocably with his son.
"He has lived for this long, and Legolas' is not an easy will to defeat, I believe that if Illuvatar had meant for him to depart, he would have already done so." Elrond answered, knowing only too well what Thranduil was going through. Thranduil sighed and nodded, seeing the sense behind those words, and feeling the smallest thread of hope inside him. He couldn't give up now, not when Legolas needed him most.
"I must apologize, Elrond." He started.
"For what?" Elrond asked, puzzled.
"For bringing this tragedy into your life. We should have had this traitor weeks ago. For some reason, he seems to be one step ahead of us." Thranduil said.
"You do not believe that Harim did this then?" Elrond said, picking up on the meaning of those words.
"Elladan does not believe so either... Speaking of which, where is he?" Thranduil realized that he had not seen the younger elf in some hours. Elrond chuckled, a rueful sound, but a chuckle all the same.
"Elrynd helped me by serving him some tea..." Elrond faded out. A slight smile crossed Thranduil's face. Of course Elrond would immediately see his son's exhaustion and remedy it.
"Do you have any leads as to who else it could be?" Elrond asked.
"No, but perhaps Elladan has thought of something..." Elrond faded out, seeing for the first time something so simple, so completely obvious, he nearly smacked himself.
"What is it?" Elrond said, seeing that Thranduil was onto something.
"They knew," He started, "they knew that Harim hadn't done it. Elrohir was almost positive that it wasn't him. Aragorn had just told Harim that he thought he had a new lead. Harim was just a pawn, he was meant to take the fall." His words came quicker as the ideas formed.
"Are you sure?" Elrond asked skeptically, but a glimmer of hope shown in his eyes.
"Yes." Thranduil answered, in such a definite way, that there was no questioning it. He began to call for Ardain, but stopped. He thought for a moment. He didn't want to involve anybody else. If whoever was doing this realized they were onto him. Or her. He added silently. "Perhaps we should try to keep this quiet. Elladan should be the only other who knows." Thranduil said to Elrond. Elrond agreed.
"It seems sharing ideas is what got us into this mess." Elrond said thoughtfully. "I should go check on Elladan." Elrond said. He hesitated before leaving. "Thranduil," He paused, getting the Elven king's attention. "Don't forget about what I said. He will recover. Trust in Illuvatar. He will keep your son safe." With that he left. Thranduil sighed. Yes, he must, he knew. If not, how could he go on?