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Recap
Alice and Sam looked at the faces lining the side of the road as they rode into Imladris. They were steadily looking more and more nervous as Elves locked them in their sights. Legolas and Gildor noticed this and rode up to flank them, as the two elfling's had been riding behind Eomer.
"I forgot. You were both unconscious when you first came into Mirkwood so you missed all of this… Elfling's are very rarely born. These Elves are only verifying with their own eyes that the rumours are true. Give them a few days and they'll be at the fawning stage that the Elves at Mirkwood were at when we left…"
"Great! Why does that not fill me with enthusiasm?" Sam looked at Legolas with a sardonic gaze but the Elf just let out a peal of laughter and kept riding. Sam looked to where Elladan and Elrohir were soaking up the praise they were receiving for bringing in the elfling's safely. Arwen was following them with an increasingly dark expression as they went along. Sam laughed, they were characters those three! Elrond was waiting at the gates of Imladris, with a thrilled look on his face.
"Welcome to Imladris. Make yourselves at home!"
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"Left. Left. Left. ALICE! IF YOU DON'T GET YOUR LEFT DEFENSE UP YOU WILL END UP WITH A BROKEN ARM!!" Legolas appeared to be having a minor heart attack as Alice got hit again with the practise sword.
"You know. I thought the whole idea of teaching them to fight properly was so that you didn't feel the need to dog their steps every second of the day… You can't expect them to learn right if you can't get over your squeamishness…" Gildor reclined on a nearby tree branch watching the two spar. Sam was holed up with Elrond and Arwen in some long since forgotten area of Imladris, looking over some medical books on poisons and antidotes. Legolas and Gildor failed to see what gain Alice would achieve from sitting secluded with her brother, with nothing to do. So they took her off for combat training. Although with Legolas' protective nature over Alice it would be a miracle if she actually managed to learn anything useful.
"I know…" Legolas sighed. "But I can't bear to hurt her again after the incident in Mirkwood forest. Every time I come close my chest seizes up and it's as if I can't breathe…"
"Umm… Hello? I am still here you know?"
"Sorry…"
"What's this about an incident in Mirkwood?" Legolas stepped in front of Alice, surprised that someone had managed to sneak up on them when he noticed that it was the twins. How did they manage that? They'd already succeeded once… he'd have to get the mischievous pair to give him lessons. As painful as that seemed to him.
"Legolas was witness to the Orc's that shot me in Mirkwood. In fact it was on his orders that the five brutes are no longer able to come after us!" Legolas regained his composure quickly, nice save Alice! Wait a minute…
"Did you just say five Orc's?"
"Yeah. There were definitely five that attacked us; the only one that stuck out though was the one I presumed was the leader… He had a really badly forged sword, but strangely enough it had some weird decoration. Almost as if it was a princely weapon or something! He was the one with the black stone as a matter of fact. It all makes sense now you think about it. How else would we have gotten here? What?" Legolas had turned deathly pale at the implication her words carried with it.
"We only killed 4 Orc's in Mirkwood Alice. And there was no record of a weapon such as the one you described!"
"But that means…" Now it was Alice's turn to become pale.
"We need to talk to Elrond, and get a message to my father and Galadriel. NOW!" All 5 of the small company sprinted off to try and find the hidden room where Arwen and her father were teaching Alice's little brother.
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Imladris was a beautiful haven. A place where you can forget all of your troubles and live as peaceful a life as you want, until you sail across the seas… But it was still a settlement in Middle Earth, and although its inhabitants were as peaceful and law abiding as can be, they were bound to have made some enemies in their lifetimes. This was amplified by the fact that the Elves that dwelt there lived for thousands of years, so conflicts that would have died with their bearers were borne for far longer than was healthy… Of course, on equal accounts, Imladris had its defences; it was a testament to them that Imladris stood as it did now, and it was along those defences that Elves were frantically preparing full war defence. A situation that hadn't occurred since Sauron was beaten back by Isildur; at the end of the battle of the Last Alliance.
Now, for even the longest living Elves, and most important historians, that was a very long time… millennia in fact. Still, they were kept in full readiness, should they be needed. Elrond had never been more grateful for that precaution than he was right now. Alice and Sam had offered to leave in a public manner; draw off the enemy from the family they had grown to know and love. But the firm resistance they received from every Elf in Imladris, the telepathic warning that Galadriel gave Elrond should he accept their offer, and a panic attack that actually did send Legolas to the house of healing; where he was ordered to stay for a full day by Elrond seemed to put them off that idea for some reason… Can't think why… Not that Elrond didn't have enough to think about as it was; a band of dwarves accompanied by a hobbit had been bought to Imladris. They'd had a run in with some trolls, and were in need of some healing. On reflection it was just as well that it was Imladris they arrived at. Lothlorien was very secretive and defensive at the best of times, and Mirkwood was still recovering from the shock of having Orc's suddenly appear on their very doorstep with no warning, and the fear for their newest elfling's. Both would shoot first ask questions later… Of course the fact that they were Dwarves didn't help. Elrond didn't share the prejudices of some of his peers, but he wasn't naïve enough not to acknowledge that the prejudice existed. Elrond sighed, watching his Elves making the final preparations for the attack from Sauron's forces that were bound to arrive any time soon. Why him? He'd only wanted a simple life!
--
Sam was looking over at where Alice was training with Gildor and the twins. The swordsmanship they were demonstrating was beautiful, like a graceful dance that only they knew. But it still didn't make him want to learn it; if he had to fight that close up he knew that he would seize up, even with the newfound way of thinking that he had obtained in his short stay in Middle Earth. One-on-one up close battle just wasn't him, and he doubted that it ever would be. He sighed, lost in a downwardly spiralling train of thought that would consume him if he wasn't too careful…
This is our entire fault… If we weren't here then Legolas, Gildor, and the other elves wouldn't be in danger. Why couldn't we have stayed in the other dimension with mum and dad? If only I hadn't gotten cornered and beaten up then Alice wouldn't be here in the first place. It's my entire fault!
"It's not your fault…" Sam looked at Legolas in shock. He thought only Lady Galadriel could read minds! Legolas chuckled. "No. I'm not psychic, you're emotions and thoughts are written clear as day on your face. As I said though, it's not your fault. The elves of Imladris, Mirkwood and Lothlorien will protect you even if you do not wish for them to. If you were to make a break for it then they would follow you anyway, and more people would end up getting hurt."
"But it is my fault! If I hadn't have been such a wuss then those orcs wouldn't have caught me and none of us would be in this mess now!" Legolas pondered how to respond to this. He knew that he would have to tread carefully, for if he didn't then Sam would remain in this state for a long time to come. Self blame is not a small thing that should be shoved in a cupboard and hope that it will go away; he of all elves would know that.
"Those orcs weren't sent to your dimension for a holiday Sam. They would've found you, wherever you were, and would likely have harmed innocents on their quest. Orcs don't care about brothers, or parents who will no longer see their loved ones. Or rather they no longer care. They are completely controlled by the dark lord and will do whatever it is that he asks of them regardless of the consequences - even if it costs them their own lives." Legolas paused and looked over to the youngest elfling that middle earth had seen in centuries, to check that he still held his attention, which thankfully he had. "Besides, there's nothing you can do to change the past. You can only shape your actions in the future…"
"You're right. As usual… Have I ever mentioned how annoying it is when you're right by the way?"
"Yes. Often. Although it's normally accompanied by rather more colourful language than that. One of these days, I'm going to have to sit down and get you to teach me some of them. Honestly, some would think you were a mercenary sometimes!" Legolas laughed, relieved that he had managed to save Sam, just as he and his sister had saved him. It seemed as though it was repaying a debt of a kind.
"Anyway. Why aren't you sparing with Alice? I thought you were teaching her!"
Legolas laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. "I was, until Gildor and the twins threatened to take away my elfhood if I didn't stop pussyfooting around. Alice didn't object, and she receives better instruction from them then I could give her. My forte is in archery anyway, which is more long distance." Legolas looked rather sad at this, but Sam had perked up and glanced at the elder blonde elf with a speculative gleam in his eye.
"Would you teach me archery? I need to desperately find a way to defend myself, but I don't have the backbone to do the type of sword fighting that Alice does…" He didn't need to wait for an answer. The thrilled look in the back of Legolas' eyes was all the answer he needed.
