A/N: Sorry for the long wait everyone! I'm back from France. The only thing I broke was my ski (had an disagreement with a rock at 50 km/h). There wasn't really much snow, but plenty enough to ski reasonably okay (as long as you watched out for rocks...). But anyways, I didn't have a laptop-with-internet-connection there so I was stuck writing other things (not-fanfiction-related things. I write on too!). And since school suddenly decided that my second-to-last year should be a busy one, I haven't exactly had a lot of free time to write. I apologise again for my tardiness (I started playing freerice again, to up my vocabulary a bit...). I hope it's noticeable in my writing proficiency (or lack thereof) that I took the CAE Cambridge exams last week. I'm quite nervous for the results, I'm hoping for an A (Got one of those in the FCE last year.)
Anyways, the story and I had an disagreement about the storyline, and I had to give in. That's why there's a cliffy at the end of the chapter. I'm already busy writing the next chapter, but it could be some time before I think it's finished enough. I hope you all enjoy!
Reviews are welcome!
As soon as the battle was over and all the orcs had fallen prey to the sharp bites of elvish arrows, Legolas jumped down from his latest hiding place (on the largest branch of a two-stemmed birch tree) and ran towards Elparion. But before he could reach his fallen comrade, he was met by the tall and angry form of Elvarion.
"Why in the name of the Valar did you make that sound?" Elvarion said with so much anger that Legolas took a step back.
"I was trying to warn..." Legolas started.
"Then why didn't you use the trees to warn him? You're an elf for Valar's sake!"
Legolas cringed in shame. How could he forget that? How could he forget the trees? It could have prevented Elparion from getting hurt! He was so stupid.
"I ..." Legolas began, but he was cut off by Elvarion.
"No. You're the worst excuse for an elf I've ever seen. You're lucky that you're the prince, otherwise I'd have dragged you back towards the palace."
"You can certainly leave it up to my little brother to do such a stupid thing. He's lucky to have been given a special mission from ada, otherwise I would have thrown him out of the group." Aerolas said coldly from behind Elvarion. He and the two remaining members of the group had patched up Elparion as good as possible in the mean time.
"How is he?" Elvarion asked, who was not as adept at healing as most other elves and refrained from trying to heal anybody as long as it wasn't a life-threatening wound.
"The first arrow pierced his shoulder blade, and it's only a flesh wound. We've cleaned it as good and as bad as we could do right here, but I'm afraid we'll have to move him to a safer location. This place smells like death too much, and of shame too." Aerolas said while shooting Legolas a scornful glare.
"And the second arrow?" Elvarion asked. He had seen Elparion lying on the ground with two arrows protruding from his chest when the battle had started.
"The second arrow has pierced his stomach. Cheirion is busy trying to close the stomach itself, so that no more of the foul-reeking acid seeps out, but it's bad. We must hurry to Lothlorien, for that is the only place within a day's reach where Elparion can be healed sufficiently." Aerolas said.
"Can he ride?" Elvarion asked.
"No. He's too weak to ride alone, so he must ride together with one of us."
"As much as I want it too, he can't ride with me. Eruthren can't carry the both of us, even if we transfer all the other things to another saddle bag." Elvarion said.
"I don't think Aerulen can carry both of us, though I suspect that he can hold out longer than Eruthren." Aerolas said. "I think Legolas must ride with Elparion, for he is the lightest of us."
Both Legolas and Elvarion looked to Aerolas in surprise. One in surprise of horror, other in surprise of shock.
"Plus it seems fitting that he takes care of Elparion, because he's the reason he's injured." Aerolas said.
"Fine." Elvarion said angrily. The person that was the one reason that Elparion was hurt now had to ride with him to protect him.
Several minutes later, when Elparion was bandaged up as good as it got, the elven troupe packed up everything and left the place of battle. The smells of death and decay had started setting in and, although strictly against the elven tradition, they had not buried nor burned the bodies of the orcs, because there was not enough time.
The saddle bags of Aerulen, Aerolas' horse, were added to Legolas's horse. Aerolas rode on Elparion's horse while Legolas and Elparion rode on Aerulen.
Elparion was taller than Legolas, quite a lot taller, so it looked strange to see a small elf trying to keep Elparion, who was shifting in and out of consciousness constantly due to the loss of blood, in place while at the same time trying to keep control over a horse that was used to a very dominant master. Luckily it was an elven horse, otherwise it might have thrown off its rider after sensing his uncertainty.
The elves rode with the greatest speed possible in their situation. They had Aerolas taking the front, Elvarion at Legolas' side and the other two elves covering the back. Elvarion shot angry looks at Legolas, and pitiful looks at his brother. They were twins, so he could very well sense Elparion's pain in times like these.
"You're holding him wrong, Legolas." Elvarion said when the elven troupe had just left the edge of Mirkwood forest behind them. "You're hurting his stomach this way."
Legolas carefully held Elparion higher. He cursed the fact that he was very small for an elf, for it was tiring to hold his arms up as high as he did.
Elvarion was silent for a few minutes, while the group steadily rode on.
"You're holding him wrong again." Elvarion said when Legolas had lowered his arm in a moment of lost attention.
Legolas held his arm higher again, to spare Elparion's wounded stomach.
When it neared noon, and Legolas arms felt like they were slowly being put through a series of torturing devices, the group rested for a very short while. Elparions bandages were changed, using up every set of bandages the group had with them for this short journey. Legolas massaged his arms, while slowly cursing himself for being too weak to hold Elparion on the horse, and too dumb to have prevented this whole ordeal. How could he be fit to be a prince if he couldn't even do those simple things? He was worthless, just like his ada had said.
Legolas train of self-loathing thoughts was interrupted by a very known and very disturbing feeling in the pit of his stomach. There were orcs close by.
"Aerolas." Legolas called out. "We must leave. There are orcs closing in on us."
"They must have picked up on our trail." Aerolas said while shooting a glare at his brother. "We'll leave immediately and make haste to Lothlorien."
The elves quickly left the site where they had rested and rode towards Lothlorien with great haste. The land in front of them was plain and flat, with no vegetation to escape the sight of the orcs. There were too many orcs tailing them, judging by the size of the cloud of dust rising up, to battle with any chance of winning. The elves had no choice but to flee towards the Anduin, in the hope of finding a place to cross the mighty water flow before the night fell.
For quite a long time, too long in the eyes of the elves, they rode next to the river in search of a suitable place to cross it. The terrain was slowly becoming rockier and more dangerous to ride, and soon they'd have to dismount their horses in hope of finding a crossing on foot before the orcs caught up to them. The foul creatures could move faster than elves on difficult terrain if their need was high enough. But only few minutes before the orcs caught up with the group of elves, a sudden widening in the river made the water flow slow enough for the elvish horses to cross. It was still pretty deep, judging by the colour of the water, but the choice between getting wet and getting shot is an easy one.
The proud elvish horses confidently carried their riders through the river, trusting their instincts to keep them steady on their way and out of sudden dangers that the river bottom might pose. But when the troupe of elves neared the other side of the river, the first twangs of orcish bows could be heard.
The orcs had taken up position on the high hills that flanked the east side of the Anduin, where the dark power that rested in Dol Guldur ruled the land. On the other side of the mighty river, the west side, the light forces from Lothlorien were in control, as the whole land fell under the protective eye of the Lady of the Forest.
By a small miracle the elves managed to reach the other shore safely, without being hit by arrows or darts. Harsh and loud screams followed as the elves followed a small path that led them up to the plains, out of reach and sight for the orcs. Their fear for the river and the Lady of the Woods was greater than their fear for their master's whips, so none of the foul beasts dared to cross the mighty stream. The elven troupe had escaped.
The elves made haste towards Lothlorien. Elparion was still badly injured, and he had not regained consciousness since they had stopped to change his bandages.
It was not long before the lush green edges of the forest of Lothlorien could be seen. There was something special about the trees, something which clearly showed that it was not a common forest. If the entire area was parched from drought, the trees there would only be slightly dreary. But more obvious – to elves – than the difference in the trees was the obvious sense of power that emanated from the high, proud stems of the forest. It was a power that could be frightening, if you were unfamiliar with it, but it could also be a feeling of safety and comfort.
To Aerolas, it was neither. He wasn't frightened easily, and he knew what lived in the forest so he wasn't comforted by the feeling either. Thranduil, and consequently many of the elves in Mirkwood, didn't like the elves from Lothlorien (or the elves from Rivendell for that matter). It was an age-old feud between two old tribes of elves, one to which only the Valar remembered the exact cause. But nonetheless, Thranduil had warned Aerolas about the manipulative ways of the Witch of the Forest (as he called her) many times over, and Aerolas already disliked her, despite having not met her once.
Legolas, however, felt no such feelings of contempt. Thranduil had told him of the many tales about the Lady of the Forest, but Legolas didn't want to fell an opinion on anyone before he had met that person. And besides that, he was too impressed and awed and, up to a certain point, frightened of the mighty forest of Lothlorien.
The elven groupe rode underneath a thick canopy of trees, on an old forest path that was rarely used due the lack of traffic between Mirkwood and Lothlorien. Their prescense did not go unnoticed by the silent watchers of the forest, the soldiers of the lady, the Galadhrim.
"Halt! Who travels through the forest of Lothlorien?" A voice shouted from the tree. It was obviously an elven voice, because it sounded clear and joyful despite being intended to sound intimidating.
"We travel from Mirkwood with on important mission from my father, king Thranduil. We have a wounded elf with us, and we request aid." Aerolas spoke when Legolas was searching for where the voice came from.
"Aid has been called for, and there will be a bed prepared in the city." The voice called from the trees after a few moments. "You may enter the city, but your weapons will be taken from you."
"We do not wish to be treated as foes, nor do we wish any harm to one of our own kind." Aerolas spoke again.
"That is of no matter. Your weapons will be taken from you, they are not allowed into the city."
"I am Aerolas, prince of Mirkwood. I do not wish to be treated as a foe in these lands!" Aerolas said, his anger growing.
"You will relinquish your weapons if you want to enter the city." The voice said, growing in anger too at the haughtiness with which Aerolas spoke.
"I will not concede with your stupid rules. Show yourself, coward of an elf!"
"You do not do wise to threaten me, Prince of Mirkwood. I have many bows and even more arrows, and you are in my aim now." The voice in the trees threatened.
"If you think we cannot see you, you are obviously foolish. The Galadhrim may be experienced archers, but we are warriors of Mirkwood!" Aerolas spoke again, not frightened by the many bows and arrows that were suddenly visible from around them.
Arrows were notched on bows, bowstrings were pulled tight and aims were taken. The Mirkwood elves, save for Elparion, who was still unconscious, and Legolas, who was keeping Elparion on the horse.
A/N: Am I evil?
I needed something for Aerolas and 'the voice in the trees' to disagree on, and this was the most logical option.
Oh, and if you noticed any spelling mistakes and/or grammatical errors, please tell me. I work without a beta, and there's a connection error between my fingers and my brain occasionally. And I'm planning on taking the CPE next year (If I remembered the name correctly), so I want to prepare by making as little errors as possible.
