First Meeting
Chapter 3: Guilt By Association
Disclaimer: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy belongs to J. R. R. Tolkien. I'm writing this for fun, not money.
The first thing he became aware of was the voices. At first he could not understand them at all. After a while, he realised they were speaking in Sindarin, but not the same kind that he had learned. The voices spoke with such a strong accent and used many words he did not recognise, so that he was only able to discern every other word or so. The other thing he became aware as he was waking, was the vile taste in his mouth that reminded him of the potions that Lord Elrond would force down his throat when he was ill. Yet none of the voices belonged to Lord Elrond. With that thought he realised one more thing-his hands were bound behind his back.
"This one is waking as well." It took Aragorn a moment to try to figure out what the elf was saying. "We will take them to the king now."
Aragorn pried open his eyes. His head felt heavy, and his temple started throbbing as he tried to remember what had happened and what he was doing here.
He was lying in a cell, yet he could think of no reason for being there. He had been in the forest, he remembered, and then the spiders had attacked. He did not see why he was now in a prison.
The door to his cell opened, and in walked two elves. He knew them to be Mirkwood elves by their green and brown clothing. They walked over to him and, without a word, dragged him to his feet. Aragorn couldn't help but let out a small gasp at the unexpected pain.
"What...?" That was all that he managed to get out. He was confused by his current status as prisoner and was unsure what to make of it. Growing up, Aragorn had always known these elves to be allies. Yes, the Mirkwood elves were thought rather ignorant and undisciplined by the Noldor, but they were still respected as worthy allies who helped to keep the growing evil at bay.
Aragorn heard another voice, this one speaking in the common tongue. Its words were provocative and challenging, yet spoken with a quiver of fear. Then he understood and was relieved. It was a simple misunderstanding. The elves had found him with the outlaws and had assumed that he was one of them. He would just explain this mistake to the Elvenking, and then he would be freed.
He grimaced. The elves had begun marching him out of the prison and each step sent a wave of pain through his body. The spider bite on his neck ached terribly, despite the fact that someone had bandaged and tended the wound.
After what seemed like an endless journey, the Aragorn and the outlaws were brought into the Great Hall. The guards with them walked them down the length of the hall until they were directly in front of the stone dais on which the Elvenking's throne sat. Then, they forced the men unto their knees before the king. Aragorn looked up. He knew such an act may be considered arrogant, but he took the chance to examine the king's Elvenking had pale blond hair and green eyes that showed the wisdom of many years. Beside his throne stood two elves, advisors most likely. The Elvenking's face was impassive as he glanced over the men, but when his cool eyes fell on the ranger, he paused to glare at the man's defiantly raised head. At that Aragorn dropped his head, not out of fear, but out of respect.
"You are guilty of trespassing in my forest. Do you have anything to say to defend your actions?" The Elvenking spoke in the common tongue. His words were clear and impassive. His tone was deceptively soft.
Aragorn opened his mouth to explain his innocence, but was cut off by the four other men.
"We weren't doing nothin wrong." One of them exclaimed indignantly.
"I'm innocent."
"We were chased into the forest by those darned spiders." Another shouted over him.
"I'm a citizen of Esgaroth. You can't keep me here."
The men's voices were all rude and proud. None of them showed the least bit of respect for the great king sitting before them.
A thought occurred to Aragorn then. Exclamations of his innocence were less convincing while standing next to four guilty men who were all making the same claim.
"You are lying." King Thranduil said, his voice silky smooth. "You are outlaws. My warriors have told me that, while treating your wounds, they saw the brands you bear on your shoulders as testaments of your crimes. You have already been banished for committing one crime. The punishment for committing another crime by trespassing in my realm is death."
"My Lord!" Aragorn exclaimed. Now, for the first time, he felt a flash of fear. "I am no outlaw. I do not have a brand upon my shoulder. I am innocent."
His protest may have done him some good, if the king had been able to hear it over the sound of four other protests. However, the king had heard enough of their lies.
"Enough." He said, raising his voice slightly for the first time. Then he turned to address the guards. "The men are to be executed for their crimes tomorrow at dawn. Dismissed."
Along with the other men, Aragorn continued to proclaim his innocence as he was led from the hall.
Legolas frowned as the men were led away. He had watched the whole interaction from his place beside the king's throne. He harboured no illusions that the men were innocent, but that did not make it easier to see them condemned to death.
His father was a good king. If his judgement was sometimes harsh, it was only because the growing darkness made such harshness necessary.
His father did not usually deal with trespassers so cruelly. Normally, he would simply lock the men in a cell for a day or two before turning them over to the Master of Esgaroth. With outlaws however, it was different. The Master refused to take the men as they had already been exiled for past crimes. The king knew from past experience that letting the outlaws go only allowed them to cause more trouble. Therefore, the only options for the king were to lock the men up permanently or execute them. To an elf, a quick death was far more merciful than a slow, agonising one caused by lack of freedom. That was why the king had chosen to execute them.
Legolas knew this, and so he accepted the king's judgement. In fact, he rarely questioned his father's decisions, not because he was afraid to but because he usually agreed with them.
Eventually, after several more issues had been brought to the king's attention, court ended and Legolas was dismissed. He immediately went to his chambers to change into his warrior uniform. In order to allow all the warriors to spend time with their families, the soldiers' positions changed every three months. Currently, Legolas was stationed as a officer of the Home Guard.
After he finished dressing, he grabbed his weapons and left his chambers. Tonight, he was assigned to guard the men in the dungeons while they awaited their executions at dawn.
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